


Don't give up!

by Mr_Hyde_or_was_it_Dr_Jekyll



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Lesbian Relationship, Comedy, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Superpowers, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-12 05:46:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 57
Words: 203,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7087642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_Hyde_or_was_it_Dr_Jekyll/pseuds/Mr_Hyde_or_was_it_Dr_Jekyll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Max went back in time to stop the tragedy from happening? What if Chloe never entered the bathroom? She has only one way to find out what might happen. For one last time, she goes back to try and fix the universe. [The story takes place after episode 5]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. No time to waste

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there ^^ A little disclaimer right off the start: I`m new to writing, this is actually the first story I ever wrote.
> 
> To be honest I really couldn't stand the two endings of LiS. I always thougt Max could have had more options with her ability :P So I tried coming up with something myself :3 If you don't like it or think it needs improvement that's totally fine by me, actually I would love to hear everyone's opinion about it. ^^
> 
> Also English is not my native tongue so if you see any grammar mistakes feel free to point them out!

"I'll always love you... Now, get out of here, please! Do it before I freak! And Max? Don't you forget about me!"

"Never..."

"It's okay Nathan... Don't stress... You're okay... WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE MAX?" Nathan shouted in the girls' bathroom, shocked to see Max as she came out of her cover.

* * *

Knowing that she couldn't watch Chloe being shot again, Max needed to find another way to save both this town and the girl she loved. But she knew hiding behind a corner wouldn't make that happen.

"Uhmm I... just wanted to-"

"Yeah, yeah. Just get the fuck out... NOW" Nathan interrupted her.

 _Okay he's angry, that's fine… But I won't let it end like last time_. _I can't let Chloe enter this bathroom. This is where everything began... and also where it'll end if I don't do something._

Max gave a short nod in Nathan's direction, to avoid provoking him any further and made her way past him outside. It seemed like she was just in time to see a blue haired girl approaching the entrance.

"Chloe..." Hearing her name the girl looked up only to see Maxine Caulfield; the girl that left her behind, the girl that didn't care about her… The girl that was once her best friend. Maxine freaking Caufield…

For a moment the smaller girl thought her powers activated again as time froze for her upon seeing the girl she loved standing right before her.

_Just moments ago you wanted to sacrifice yourself and now you stand here. It never happened._

Everything that happened prior flashed before her eyes in a single confusing mess, blinding her partially before she swallowed thickly.

_She's not my Chloe, but she's still Chloe… right?_

"This is a joke right?" the blue haired girl asked in partial shock." Maxine fucking Caulfield? I didn't even expect you to remember my name, let alone letting me know you're ba-"

"Chloe! Don't go in that bathroom. Please..." Max interrupted the punk with a shaky voice. C _ome on Max, don't you panic on me now. I need to be smart, just this once._ But even when just the thought went through her head tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

"What the hell? H-how did you know that I want to go in there? Tell me... **now**!" the punk said with an intimidating voice.

 _Great, I already made her angry,_ the freckled girl thought _. I've got to remember that this Chloe doesn't know anything. She didn't 'forgive' me like the other Chloe did._

 _"_ I... I can't, not right now at least. Please, you have to believe me. "

Hearing Max's words, the blue haired girl crossed her arms. "Ha! Believe you? Why the fuck should I believe someone who doesn't even bother calling me once after being best friends for years... No, you don't even have the slightest idea how important this is. You have _no_ idea! My life is hella fucked and right now you're stopping me from what could be my last chance of saving it." Chloe said, a sharp undertone lingering in her voice.

"... I-I'm so sorry. For everything..." Max said as hot tears ran down her face. "But if you go inside of this bathroom now, Nathan won't give you the money you need..." Max saw that a lot of people were starting to pay attention to the two girls. Hearing what the smaller girl just said Chloe took a step back.

 _I can't just tell her the truth here, or I'll just be called a liar._ The brunette could see how the punk was trying to wrap her head around the fact that Max knew what she had intended to do inside of this bathroom. _She's scared of me... but I've gotta stay focused._

"How do you know all of this Max? D-Did you stalk me?... Forget it, that's not important right now." Chloe looked into the ground briefly, her eyes narrowed. "If you know all that, you should also know why I need the money so desperately. Not that you would care about my well being. So what is this about, you want some of the cash as well?"

 _No, no, no, she's already coming to wrong conclusions... I mean, it makes sense. For her I'm not the girl who saved her life in that bathroom, I'm the girl who left her and never even bothered to call after William's accident._ The punk glanced up at a teary Max who tried to find words which would stop her from going. In response to Max's stuttering she just shook her head and moved towards the bathroom door.

"Chloe..." But seeing that the blue haired girl wouldn't stop, Max came up with something that would get a reaction. _I'm so sorry..._

 _"_ I know what happened to Rachel."

Chloe whirled around instantly and grabbed a hold of Max before she slammed her against the wall.

"You know nothing about her! Stop messing with me!" She yelled, but in her expression Max could see that now she at least had her full attention.

 _If_ _she goes now, I've lost her... again. I need to persuade her so that she'll come with me somewhere else. Somewhere safe._

"How can you be sure? I know why you want to go in there too, don't I? I can tell you everything, but I can't talk about it here. You've got to come with me if you want to hear the truth." Letting her go, Chloe nodded towards the exit while not even looking at a nearly hysterical Max. "If you're lying to me, I'll beat the crap out of you." Was the only response Max got as they went outside.

"Drive us to somewhere private."

"The beach will have to do... I want answers, Caulfield!"

* * *

_A photo of Chloe being shot in the bathroom changes into a photo of Nathan waiting alone in the bathroom._

* * *

"So, we're here. Now explain this shit!"

_She's still angry with me. Now that I'm already here I should probably tell her everything... step by step._

"You've already noticed that I know some things I probably shouldn't, right?"

"Yes... Yes I did. Are you some kind of ESP or what? I'm not in the mood for games Max. Just tell me already."

"ESP?... Not quite... I am... was a time traveler..."

"Fuck you."

"W-Wait Chloe, just listen. Please!" Max then started listing things she shouldn't be able to know. Nathan's attempt to photograph Chloe when she was drugged, the punk owing Frank a 'fuckton' of money and also David Madsen not just being her 'Step-prick', but also the one to set up cameras all around the house which was something not even Chloe herself knew.

The punk became more and more insecure about what to believe, but Max could still see her distrust and anger.

"It may be hella scary that you know all this shit but that won't make me believe you just like that... You probably heard most of this from someone at Blackwell. Y-you also could just be lying about the cameras! You... said you know where Rachel is... please I need to know. Where is she? You don't know how... no you probably already know how important she's to me, am I right?"

Max could only give a small smile, which almost looked sad, as an answer, but before she could answer the girl before her, suddenly broke down right before her eyes.

"... I don't know what to believe anymore..." The bigger girl let out a groan filled with pain and confusion. "Did she leave me alone? Did she just drop me after I had no use to her anymore?... Is she d-dead?... She c-can't be..." Max's pained expression let Chloe guess what she was about to say. But instead of doing so the brunette just hugged her crying friend. _You may be angry with me, but before anything else you're worried about your angel._

After a while the blue haired girl moved out of Max's hug and looked straight into her face "Tell me Max... tell me everything please. Where is she and why did... why did she d-die." Chloe's voice was nothing more than a whisper and for a moment Max just wanted to tell her everything, but then she suddenly remembered how Chloe was after finding out what Nathan and Mr. Jefferson did to Rachel and the other girls.

_I can't tell her... She would bring herself in danger again. She would try to confront them on her own, just like she wanted to at the party. I got to protect you from everything, even yourself._

_"_ I can't tell you everything... Not right now." _I know you'll hate it. But honest to dog, as much as I wish you would love me again, I would rather have you safe and pissed at me._

 _"_ What? Why not? Max, I've got a fucking right to know what happened to my best friend." Max felt her heart tighten as the other girl said 'best friend' _Am I really jealous of Rachel? Now? I'm disgusting._

"I know... but you need to trust me on this. I don't want to hide anything from you, I swear... But you've got to stay safe."

"Stay safe? Wait there is a risk involved in me knowing what you know? I don't need your protection Max... I need to know what happened to Rachel!" Max was despairing. _Fuck I know she's right but I need to get Nathan and Mr Jefferson before Chloe knows what they did._

"Listen, let's... let's do that tomorrow. You must be exhausted, right? I already got your number. I'll text you later."

"You hella won't, Caulfield. I did something stupid in another timeline right? Well I won't do it in this one, I promise!... Just... just..."

"Chloe... you can't even imagine..."

"Well, then help me Max! Talk to me." But Max wasn't sure what she could tell her. _Maybe it'll cause her to die again or someone else I... I don't know what to do._ Max was at her fits end. What decision was the right one to do. Max didn't know it anymore. She felt that her legs wouldn't carry her much longer thanks to her panic. Just as she was about to collapse-

-the punk was there to embrace her.

_So strong... so warm... how can you be like that... after everything that happened to you... after what I did to you... you still try to move forward._

As the two girls slowly sank to their knees Max started sobbing. She didn't want to let go of the bigger girl.

"You died Chloe... right in front me... Over and over again, because of my decisions, not yours." Chloe could only give the sobbing girl a fragile smile

"But right now I'm here-"

"I won't risk you being in pain ever again!" The freckled girl screamed at Chloe. "I-I did so much wrong. Leaving you... you got hit by a train, shot, nearly being stabbed... I... I was just about to sacrifice you for this town... I... I won't ever let you get hurt again." Max said those last words with such determination that Chloe couldn't say anything in return.

In this moment she only saw her childhood friend breaking down right next to her and all she could do was to embrace her even tighter.

After a while Max calmed down enough to gently remove herself from the other girl, but before she could say anything, Chloe stood up. "Max I'll wait... but you've got to tell me eventually. Even if it's dangerous for me to hear. I don't think I can wait for long." As she talked she reached out for the smaller girl and helped her up on her feet once more, pulling her up on shaky legs.

"We need to have a serious talk about everything and... I missed you so much... I don't want to see you being hurt because you try to protect me from whatever this is. Be careful. I don't want to lose another... friend?... Do you think we can be friends again?" the punk was a bit embarrassed asking something awkward like that but Max could tell that she was serious about it. However, she still couldn't stop herself from chuckling a little bit from hearing it.

"We will. Forever."

...

_Okay first I've got to get Mr. Madsen's attention. He's probably the only one who's paranoid enough to believe something as crazy as the dark room._

After Chloe had driven her back to Blackwell, Max didn't want to waste any time and went looking for Mr. Madsen. It wasn't hard to find him. After all, he was always patrolling the campus. "Uhm excuse me, Mr. Madsen?"

"Yeah? Ah, you're the new girl. Maxine am I right?"

"L-Listen I...have to tell you something important... we both know there's something going on around Blackwell and I might be able to help you with your case." Max noticed that she had caught David Madsen's attention as his eyes became serious.

"What're you talking about? If this is about the surveillance and Miss Grunt I-"

 _Here we go Max..._ "This isn't about your surveillance... it's about what happened to Rachel Ambers."

"... You don't look like you're lying, I'll hear what you have to say but if you lie to me... just know that I'm somebody you don't want as your enemy."

...

Just as Max had expected, it wasn't hard to convince David to go with her to the old barn. Although he didn't like the idea at first since it was private property of the Prescott's, he realised quickly that this wasn't a prank once Max showed him the entrance to the Dark Room.

"That bastard..." David muttered. "Thank god that Chloe is safe... but all those girls and nobody eve-" As Max turned around to see why he stopped talking, her eyes landed on a folder with her name on it. She swiftly reached out for it before David could open it and was surprised that he didn't even try to hold on to it. "Max... that's how you knew about this? My god... Just take it. You're the only one who has a right for it... I promise I'll get the bastard." David didn't even try to open the folder, not knowing that only photos of Max being on campus were inside of it. At least in this timeline.

_Wowser David, why're you not always so understanding? Chloe would like you more like this._

_"_ Thank you... I'll wait outside, if that's okay. I don't think I can handle a second more in this room. I could call the police, they'll need to see this as early as possible."

"Yeah, you're right. Take my phone and call Officer Corn. I've got his number in my address book." Max took her folder with as she left the room to call the police. _I've got to hurry, I don't think I can let Chloe wait any longer. Wait, it's dark already? Where is the snow? Did I... I change something?! Something is different now!_

Max was confused by her observation, but didn't waste time thinking about it. When she called the officer he didn't sound all that interested in what Max had to say, until David came out and took his phone to explain everything. The freckled girl looked around a bit around while David was talking on the phone. The dark barn gave her the creeps.

_Jeez... It feels like Jefferson is still here... still watching me with his disgusting smile. I want to burn this place down, or at least stay away from it as far as I can._

**Bzz. Bzz.** Max almost jumped as her phone vibrated to signal she had recieved a message.

 **Chloe : Hey... listen** **I just wanna say, sorry for today I gave you some shit you didn't deserve... at least not all of it**

**Chloe : will try to trust you for now, but you need to tell me tomorrow**

**Max : No Che I deserved it... tomorrow at your place? Joyce and your step won't be there in the morning right?**

**Chloe : Wait, Max Caulfield skips school? The end's near**

**Max : I promised you didn't I ? ;)**

**Max : Ah no emoji sorry**

**Chloe : Dude get out of my head, please?**

Before she could write a sassy answer, David suddenly walked towards her. _"_ Well they're on their way now. Do you want to stay here? Probably not. I can drive you halfway before the police will be here. I imagine you've seen enough of this place." David said, his eyes were focused on the folder which was still in Max's hand. _He's not a bad person, he's just worried about the safety of everyone around him a bit too much._

...

She saw how the tornado destroyed Arcadia bay.

Chloe was right next to her holding her hand. _It's not over yet,_ was the first think Max thought. She instinctively knew that she was dreaming but something felt off. The storm was not as big as he used to be. Her freckled face slowly formed a bright smile as she understood what that probably meant. _I did stop her from being killed, but the storm is smaller... It may not be Chloe's death that's the reason for it after all._ Max tried to make sense of what she was seeing right now.

"Why are you so happy Max? You just let hundreds of _innocent_ people die just to save me!" The girl standing next to her screamed.

"We were wrong Chloe!" Max couldn't keep her smile hidden as joy filled her. She looked over to the punk and wanted to make her understand, even if this Chloe wasn't real. "It's not your fault Che! Your death is not the trigger for the storm!"

But the punk just shook her head. "Max you need to sacrifice me, and we both know it! You won't be able to- **BZZ. BZZ.** " The punk's voice was cut off by a weird noise.

"I won't be able to do what?!"

**BZZ. BZZ.**

Max woke up, and for a moment she didn't know where she was. **BZZ. BZZ**. _Wha... what the hell?_ Max reached out for her phone which kept making noise only to see that she had 126 new messages.

After yesterday she didn't even try to attend classes and just slept until 11:00. Although she was still a bit sleepy she went to her PC and opened her social media sites to see that she had gotten tonnes of links that had been sent to her which all had some words like "the new hero of Arcadia bay" in it. _David you didn't tell anybody did you? Oh god that's just... I don't want to be a hero I just want a peaceful life with my Che... Fuck!_ She took her phone out and scrolled down the list of people who all had sent her something. She just had one objective and it was to see the punkster now. _Warren, Mom, Dad, Kate, wowser even Victoria send me a "Thank you"... I did save her as well, didn't I?_

_Ah, there's Chloe_

**Chloe : ! WHY COULDN'T YOU TELL ME SOMETHING LIKE THAT?**

**Chloe : MAX YOU THERE?!**

**Chloe : Ignoring me now? Well you've got more important stuff to do right now, right? Like being famous...**

_Really? She can't be serious... well I got her last text about 2 hours ago without answering it_... Max decided to just call her directly instead of sending a text that could be misinterpreted.

"Yea?" An annoyed voice came through the speaker.

"You know who this is. Come on, do you really think I forgot my promise?"

"Well, I waited half the day for you to answer me, so yes, maybe I do think you forgot it. Again."

"Half the day? Stop kidding me, you're probably still wearing your PJ's. Also, I was sleeping until now pretty much." She wanted to say how unfair it was that Chloe would be mad at her but then she heard how the girl on the other end of the line was trying to hold her sobbing back. S _he just lost her 'best friend, of course she's an emotional wreck right now I'm such an idiot!_ Now the freckled girl just felt like vomiting, but this was not the time to think about herself.

"I'm on my way to your house and won't go until you feel any better, promise! Give me thirty minutes tops, okay? I just woke up so I'll need to change before coming to you, is that alright?"

"Make it twenty-five and we have a deal." Chloe answered, still having a sad undertone in her voice.

"Good, at least you didn't lose your sense of humour. Hang on, I'll be right there"

...

While on the bus, Max thought about what happened in her dream and what her next step should be.

_First of all I need to help Chloe. This won't be pretty, but I'll be there for her, forever. But how do I stop the storm…? Or at least make it smaller like yesterday. Chloe might've not... died yesterday, but she sure as hell still can in the next few days. She was always so reckless, never giving a 'hella' fuck about safety. That's what makes it so hard to predict what she's up to. Sometimes it felt like she actually wanted something bad to happen, even if it was subconsciously..._

Max's left hand sank into her hair.

_She's not stupid, she knew messing with Nathan and Frank would be dangerous... Sometimes it feels like she actually wanted to get into such situations... And I didn't exactly help with that, did I? Maybe I... I need to show her that there's people who cares for her. Maybe that's why the storm was smaller than usual! Chloe knows now that Rachel didn't just leave her… like I did._

Scratching her scalp, the freckled girl tried to wrap her head around the idea that just popped up in her head. _I-I need to give her the want to go on again? Yes, I-I need to try it at least. I'll protect her from everything. Even herself!_

...

Max ran the way from the bus stop to Chloe's. She didn't want to waste any time because she knew the punk would be a mess right now. And as she arrived at her friend's house. All her assumptions were confirmed. The punk hadn't bothered to change her clothes, she was standing in her blue pajamas right before Max as she opened the door. Her eyes were red from all the crying, her shoulders hung low and she couldn't even look Max in the face.

"You were right... I would have wanted... I still want to kill this monster... Sorry for being a bitch to you, I just..." She didn't need to say anything else. Instead of giving some awkward answer the smaller girl just crashed into Chloe with a tight hug. "It's okay..."

For about half the day they didn't have any kind of conversation at all. Chloe went from crying in Max's arms to sleeping cuddled against the brunette, and back to crying again.

After a few ours Max got hungry and wanted to make them something to eat while the blue haired mess was asleep. But she was interrupted by Chloe, who was shouting her name. She rushed back inside the room, and found a punk being rolled up in her blanket gazing at her "Don't you dare leave this room Caulfield... I-I don't think I want to be alone right now... Damn it, I miss her so much... You probably know all the plans I and Rachel had, don't you?" Max, while being happy to hear her friend talking after hours of crying, just shook her head as an answer. _Well I do know most of it but I don't want to interrupt her right now, it's good that she started to talk again. Even if it's just rambling._

"You were always terrible at lying to me Max, so tell me what did I tell you about her?" Chloe asked her, while she came back to the bed to lay down right next to the other girl.

"So you do believe me now?"

"I want to, I really do. And to be honest I can't imagine how you could know all this stuff otherwise. You knew where she was lying after all..."

The freckled girl didn't want to get into the specifics of how she got here so instead she just answered the punk's first question. "Well, to answer your question, you were head over heels for her, Che. You always called her your angel, wanting to escape Arcadia Bay... No... escape your own life with her." Chloe could only agree with all what Max said. "I loved her Max... Even if she never responded to those feelings..." For a moment the blue haired girl was silent, then she sat up and gazed at the freckled girl next to her. "Why do you do this Max? You wasted a whole day on a wreck called Price... If you feel any responsibility to help me because of things from another timeline, or the past, I promise you I won't blame you if you just g- "

Max having heard enough jumped out of the bed went to the CD-Player. It started to play a CD she brought from her dorm. "What're you doing Max? I need no music right now I-"

"Bullshit, what you need right now is some good hipster music à la Max Caulfield. And don't you dare tell me you don't like it!"

As _"move like you want"_ by Ben Howard started playing, she took the punk's hands and pulled her unwillingly out of her bed and started to dance awkwardly with Chloe. At first the bigger girl didn't really felt like it but soon gave into Max's goofing.

"I'll never leave you, I did once when I shouldn't have I know that, but I'm here right now and I won't leave my punky friend ever again." She explained while her face was burning up in a blush. This wasn't like herself, but she didn't really care. She would do anything for her love.

"Max... I... I don't want to guilt trip you or anything I'm just so-" Chloe stopped dancing, tears running down from her face again.

"Stop saying you're sorry or did you forgot I already know all of that. Time travel duh" Max said with an ironic smile on her face "If I didn't like you I wouldn't be here you know? And trust me I 'hella' do!" The freckled girl said while trying to imitate Chloe's voice.

"You're an ass sometimes" The punk answered while holding back a chuckle and her tears at the same time. "Thank you Super Max. I don't know what I would do without you right now."

 _It's pretty much the opposite you idiot. I would be lost without you._ Max said to herself, but instead of speaking her mind she answered with, "Well, you would have a boring punkster life. But having a companion on your journey through life would definitively be more fun, don't you think?" Chloe tried to put on a tough face but it crumbled at those words, and tears shot in her eyes. "Aww come on don't start crying again Che I-... Wait a second do you smell that "Something smelled burned. _Oh no I forgot the food!_ Max remembered that she started cooking before being called upstairs again.

Suddenly Chloe's stomach started to grumble and she blushed a bit "Uhm, could we go downstairs? I think my tummy tried to tell me he's feeling lonely too." Both of them snickered a bit and went downstairs, to see that Joyce was already home and tried to clean up what Max had left in the kitchen.

"Why didn't you wait for me to cook something I- Oh hello" Needing a moment before recognizing that standing before her was a five years older Max Caulfield "H-hey Joyce you look good."

"Max? Oh look at you! You've become a fine lady, I've already heard what you did to this teacher and I must say I'm proud of you. At least now we know why Rachel never came back..." Noticing the drastic change of atmosphere after mentioning Rachel, Joyce clapped in her hands to get the attention of the two girls again. "Will I be cooking for you as well Max? Would be lovely if we could have dinner again like when you were kids."

"Hella yes! I mean only if you want to stay Max, you got school and stuff to take care of, I guess."

"Just Stop already. Of course I'll stay here, I actually wanted to ask if It would be fine if I could sleep here today? I really want to evade the people who think I'm some kind of hero."

"A sleepover? That's amazeballs!" Seeing Chloe cheer up even if it was just a bit, made Max happy. _I wish I could tell you how much I love you._

 _"_ I told you Che I'll never leave your side again. I would miss you way too much if you weren't right next to me, you know?" For a moment Max saw blood going through Chloe's cheeks before answering with a smile on her face "Never? So I've got to hear that crappy music until the end of days?"

"Ahhh you know you liked it. Don't act all high and mighty now. Under this blue dyed shell is a hipster heart and we both know it."

"Your hipster powers are too strong, they're already taking me over." Chloe said while putting her hands up to defend herself.

While the punk moved to the dining table, Max asked Joyce if she needed any help to clean up the mess.

"What I need you to do right now is keep doing what you do. Bring a smile back on my girl's face. I haven't seen her like that in a long time." Those words boosted Max more than even Joyce had intended to. Max always had a lot of respect for Joyce.

"What're you two whispering behind my back." The punk asked from the table

"The Caulfield-Price family conspiracy and it already started." Max said while giggling

"Oho? Taking over the world without me? You think I would give up without a fight? In the streets they call me the blue storm, could take you on any time." Max froze for a moment. Her friend's words scared her, but before the blue haired girl could ask Max what was going on, she rushed over to Chloe and started tickling her. This was not the time to talk about the storm. Luckily, the freckled girl remembered most of Chloe's weak spots.

"Hey- HA stop!-Don't... Save your daughter MA!"

"If you want my help you either start paying your debts in the diner or you give Max the extra portion Chicken."

"No, not the chicken! I-I give up..." Chloe screamed while laying on the floor and being out of breath.

"That's the blue storm for you." Max said while getting off Chloe and sitting herself right next to her.

"That wasn't fair you surprise-attacked me!"

"Want another round? I could do that all day, punk!" Max said while making herself ready to jump her again.

"Not before dinner." Joyce stopped the two while bringing the meal.

"Wait Joyce no way in hell did you cook all of that already?" Max was stunned when she saw the amount of food.

"Naaa, Mum always brings leftovers from Two whales." Chloe explained when suddenly all three women heard the front door opening.

"Hello? Max is that you? What're you doing in my house?" David Madsen asked her while coming in.

"Get of Max back man. With all your surveillance crap you still couldn't see some psycho like this Jefferfuck, you should be grateful to her."

"Calm down soldier! I just came home and asked a simple question!" Chloe and David starting gazing at each other _I need to do something! Chloe was finally cheering up._

 _"_ Chloe didn't you know without David's help I wouldn't have been able to get the asshole! H-He's as much of a hero as I'm... at least in this case!" _Well maybe that's exaggerated but maybe that'll_ _help._

"Really? What did he do? Keep an eye on everything? Like the camera's in our house? Mom did you know that he-"

"I know darling, he told me this morning... we talked about it, well had a fight to be frank, but David promised he would take all of them away."

 _"_ You're taking his side now? That's so typically of you!" Before Joyce could say anything to her daughter Max stopped her. _I need to stop this. Them being at each other's throat again won't help anyone!_

"Chloe listen you know what the first thing was he said after we found this bunker? He was happy that you were safe! Even if you don't like him he still cares about you."

"Oh now I'm the bad one here? That's just great! A minute ago I was the one who needed comfort from you two and now all of you can bash me again?" Chloe said gazing at Joyce and Max.

David looked surprised "So that's why Max is here?"

"Well yeah I knew how much Chloe liked Rachel I couldn't just let her be alone, could I?" Max answered a bit confused _What is so surprising about me trying to help a friend... well my crush._

"Max you didn't see anybody? A doctor or anything? I don't want to dig my nose in your affairs, funny when I say that I know, but what happened to you isn't something you should keep quiet about."

"What is he talking about Max?" Chloe looked at her now, not angry but worried about her friend. _He saw the folder with my name._

"Nothing at all... well I... don't really want to talk about this could we all just stop? Please?" _I don't want to remember anything what happened inside of this room..._

"No we can't Max. You're still keeping secrets from me? Don't you trust me?" When she accused her Max had to hold back her tears. _That... I... Of course she would take it that way... I really can't blame her. I mean, yesterday was the first time we saw each other in years!_

 _"_ There was a folder... with my name on it... _"_

There was a long pause before anyone could say anything again. All three of them just stared at the small girl.

"Max... I didn't know... I'm so sorry" The blue haired girl started tearing up, as she hugged Max as strong as she could.

"Don't be, it's fine... really." _I don't care about myself! All that's important is that you're happy._

"No it's not, you spend the whole day trying to make me feel better while I didn't give a second thought about your well being... I'm such an ass!"

"You may be an idiot sometimes, but today? You lost a friend Chloe, do you think I would be angry at you for mourning somebody you loved? Feels more like you think I'm the ass here." Max said while smiling faintly.

"How... how can you do that Max? You're just smiling about something as terrible as this and move on. Don't you sometimes want those memories... everything... to disappear?"

"Are joking? I just got my childhood friend back, even if we have a hard time, I wouldn't change that for anything in the world! Why I can move on? Because I know you'll be there... Even if you think you lost your way, never forget I'll be there for you and help you find it again..." Max tried to hold back, but as she was talking she began to sob as well. "So don't you dare let me hang, okay? I wouldn't know what to do without you?" Max said as she thought, _I'll be your reason to keep on fighting just like you're mine, we don't need anything else!_

 _"_ Now instead of crying even more what do you guys thing about negotiating peace? There is no reason to hate each other." While trying to calm down Max looked at David and Chloe who looked towards each other without knowing what to do, even if both of them knew that the small girl was right.

"Are you guys cereal? I didn't ask for a touching hug or anything. Why don't we start small?" Max said, as she took Chloe's and David's hands and put them together.

"See? You don't need to be friends, but you don't need to be each other nemesis as well, do you? Come on."

Chloe and David shook their hands awkwardly, before pulling them back rather fast.

Suddenly Joyce raised her voice "Hey Max you asked if I need some help in the kitchen... actually that would be a good idea!" The two girl made their way back into the kitchen. Max looked back one more time just to see the punk with an embarrassed look on her face. Chloe's mouth formed _Don't leave me alone with him._

The freckled girl couldn't help herself from chuckling a bit at that sight. She then went into the kitchen and left Chloe alone with her stepdad.

"Max... thank you again. This may be the first time those two'll talk to each other without assuming that the other one wants to harm this family. They both have been through a lot, they're just scared of opening up to other people."

"I hope they'll try to sort this stuff out. For them and for you." Max felt sorry for Joyce, who had lost so much, and still gave everything she had to the people she cared about.

...

The diner went unexpectedly well for everyone. Chloe and David even talked a bit with each other. _Wowser Joyce was so right about them, it seems sometimes stubborn people just need a push. I hope she can relax some more now... And maybe she'll accept David as her stepfather, not just her step-prick._

After dinner the two girls tried to sneak upstairs. Max couldn't help but grin. She felt like she was a child again. _Chloe always hated cleaning up, after all_.

Already at the stairs they heard Joyce calling "Don't think just because you're off the hook for today means that you don't need to clean up tomorrow, Honey!" Chloe and Max looked at each other for a moment before starting to laugh.

As the two girls reached Chloe's room both of the felt the exhaustion from all the drama the last two days and decided to delay their talking for now and sleep, cuddled next to each other.

The last thing going through Max's head before slowly falling asleep was: _Did I do the right thing? I just want you to be alive and happy..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, That's it for now. ^^   
> My first Chapter.   
> I tried to change Max a bit from her original Character. A bit more bashful :P   
> Because I imagine Max has made some drastic changes in the last episode of life is strange.
> 
> Would love to hear your opinion about it! ( Or if you found any grammar mistakes :P)


	2. The wrong way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here is my second Chapter. This time I tried to slow things down a bit, as I thought that the first chapter felt a bit rushed. Just to remind you guys if you see any grammar mistakes feel free to point them out. I won't deny that my English is flawed '^^ Hope you can still enjoy my story though.

Blue hair.

That was the first thing Max saw when she woke up. Chloe slept with her head resting snuggled against Max's shoulder. Some of her hair faintly tickled Max's nose which let her wake up. Despite it being early in the morning the freckled girl felt fully charged again. She didn't want to wake her sleeping friend up as she seemed to be in a very deep sleep. Yesterday must have been exhausting for her. Max tried not to move too much and, still half asleep, started thinking about the whole situation and what she was supposed to do next.

_It feels like it has been ages since I last had such a sound sleep... but did I make any progress? I didn't have a nightmare... but does that mean I was_ _successful? If Chloe and David can have a normal relationship it should help her, even if it's just a bit. I don't think I can handle any more time travels... I just want to stay here right next to her and be happy... It's weird, I didn't feel anything, unlike the last times I made drastic changes inside of a photo. I don't even think I can make any time jumps anymore, not that I'll try it! I still don't know if that could worsen the storm. Maybe... maybe this is the timeline where I belong. And it's not like I'm done already, I need to find Frank and bring him to forgive her... He is probably just as sad as Chloe is right now... But for now I suppose I should stay with her and comfort her some more._

Looking at the girl in her arms Max suddenly felt like the burden she was carrying just vanished. _She looks so cute when she's asleep. All of this reminds me of when we were kids, like this one time when we thought somewhere in the forest existed a real pirate ship that somehow got there through a tsunami, because someone in your class told us so. We went so deep into the forest to search for it, it took us hours to find our way back home and even if you denied it afterwards you wouldn't let go of my hand the whole way because you were so scared..._ She couldn't help but chuckle a bit, while being lost in good memories without noticing that she woke Chloe up.

"Hmmmm," were the first sounds the punk made before she looked up at her living pillow and noticed of close she was to Max. _Is she blushing?_ Max asked herself rather surprised.

 _"_ Sorry for waking you up, go sleep another round, it's far to early to stand up anyways" Max whispered into her ears while observing how the redness spread even more through Chloe's face. As an answer Max just got a shorter "Hmmm."

But then Max felt the weight of the blue head disappear as she moved it back to her real pillow. _What's that supposed to mean, Price? Am I not good enough as a personal pillow?_ She thought rather disappointed.

Being able to move without disturbing Chloe's dozing, Max decided to get out of bed and shower.

While the water was running down on her face, she closed her eyes and caught herself how she was pouting about her friends reaction. _I know how much you love to cuddle Che... why're you acting all shy, now that I want to as well?... And it's not like we did anything strange, it was just your head on my shoulder... After all I did for you yesterday I could get at least that as my reward don't you think?_

Suddenly Max heard a deafening boom and nearly slipped before opening her eyes again.

She was wearing her clothes. She also wasn't inside a shower cabinet, but Max didn't even notice any of that because right before her eyes she saw the lighthouse.

"THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE. WHAT AM I DOING HERE!" Max screamed against the sky.

She knew where she had to go. She also knew who would probably be waiting for her. But for a moment she just wanted everything to end... turn back and run away... but where would she be safe? And what about the person waiting for her, and everyone else? No. Max knew she had to go. T _his isn't about me, it never has been since the start... Does not make it any easy though. I could always run away with Chloe and just forget everything, couldn't I?... What a great hero, amiright?_

Being careful to not get hit by anything that came downhill, she slowly made her way to the lighthouse. As she reached the top she was surprised. No one was waiting for her. No blue haired girl screaming that everything was her fault, not even an image of herself blaming her, Just... loneliness.

It was not the kind of loneliness that you would have when you wander around the beach sometimes. The feeling that terrified Max was hard to describe... when you know that you could scream all you want... but in the end nobody would come anyways. Isolation. That's what she was facing right now.

'Normally' Max would have someone or something to distract her from her surrounding but this time she saw yet again the horrifying picture right before her eyes. The storm was smaller than before, but Arcadia Bay still got ripped apart like it was nothing. For a moment Max even thought she could hear the people of the town scream her name. Being unable to wrap her head around anything happening right now Max started hugging herself, while she fell on her knees.

It seemed like all the sounds around her slowly became quiet. First the screams, then the noise from the storm, until she couldn't even hear her own sobbing anymore ...

Nothing.

...

"Hello?! Somebody?! Please..." The freckled girl begged the void around here.

...

"MAX?" The small girl raised her head, being deliriously happy after hearing a voice after what felt like ages. But she couldn't see anybody.

"MAX, let me in!" Suddenly she heard a door being punched and kicked against. Before she understood what was going on she was standing in the shower, yet again.

"Answer me? Are you okay?" A worried voice was calling out for her. _Chloe_.. _._

"Y-Yes I just... uhm I just wanted to shower real quick and didn't hear you, sorry!"

But Chloe would't let go so easy "Max... you've been in there for over 30 minutes now, if you don't come out in 5 minutes I'll break the god damn doo-"

Suddenly the door opened, and right before Chloe's eyes was a half naked Max still drenched from the water, only a towel around her body. The punk instantly noticed how unstable Max was right now. While embracing the smaller girl in her arms she asked "What happened?"

"Ju-just give me a moment..." _It's her.. her voice... her scent... her blue eyes... her beautiful lips..._ In this moment Max felt a desire she never felt before, wanting to feel the blue haired girl, not just to assure that she was indeed back. More than anything else she wanted a kiss full with passion like the last time... on the cliff.

 _But she doesn't love you. For her you just came back after 5 years after abandoning her. You did not have that week with this person, right next to you. Is that even the person you love?_ A skeptical voice in her head stopped her before she could do anything she may regret.

But Chloe's eyes were watching her closely.

"Max... I want to be there for you like you're for me but... but you need to tell me, I cant help you without knowing what's going on, and don't you dare tell me that everything is alright!"

"I-I can't. Not right now... you... you've had enough drama already Che, I won't add anymore because of my selfishness." With that she broke herself from the warmth of her friend, and closed the door again.

"Are you serious right now?" Now her voice sounded less soft and concerned. "You're still running away from me, Max!"

After a few moments the door opened again, now a fully dressed Max standing before her. "I know, I-I promise I'll tell you someday but right now I... need some time alone."

"ALONE? You had 5 FUCKING years for yourself! Max I would never ever think about trying to hurt you, even if I don't always act like that. You can trust me."

While rubbing her tears away, Max smiled faintly. "I know, it's just me being... not being normal right now, I'll call you later today, okay?" She tried to sound as apologetic as possible but couldn't stop shaking either.

"You hella won't just go away now, it's not just me who needs help right now, and I certainly won't look away from that." Chloe said while standing herself between her and the stairs.

"You don't wanna do this, Price." Max knew that she was being unreasonable, but her anger started boiling up even more when she saw the bigger girl not moving an inch.

"I've had a pretty rough morning, do you really think forcing me to stay here will help my mood?"

"Oho? Now you can talk all high and mighty again? You don't trust me for something I, being the person right before you and not somebody from another fucking timeline, never did."

"Yes... here we never... we never... Ahh just let me GO." Max tried to force herself through Chloe. The small girl was stronger than Chloe expected, and she got pushed aside landing on her back.

Max took the chance and ran down the stairs.

"Yeah, run away! That's what you always do when there's a problem. See you in another 5 years, maybe?" Max didn't turn around knowing that if she would, she would give in and and explain the girl she loved that she needed her right now... but she couldn't bear to be so close and yet not close enough to Chloe. Right now she needed to cool her head more than anything.

* * *

Back at Blackwell Max tried avoiding everything that could talk. She did not need Warren going ape, or a Brook blaming her for it, she didn't even wanted to see Kate who would be kinder to her than she deserved. But before she knew what was going on there were a lot of people around her, teacher, students and some local folk, applauding, saying there thanks and how grateful they were that Max saved everybody.

 _I didn't save anybody of you idiots, you'll still die because I can't stop fucking up._ Max just tried to push herself through everyone when suddenly Principal Wells was standing right before her.

_Really? I know I've been absent I'm sorry bla bla bla. Will he really do that right before all those people?_

"Maxine," her fists started itching when she heard that name "In the name of Blackwell I just wanted to say my thanks that you could save us from this... disaster." _Yeah, right, disaster, or just you not doing your job properly._

"I just wanted to say, although it would be nice to get informed before not attending class, we won't record it for the time being... just take your time. _"_

"Uhm thanks principal." She didn't knew if he was being kind or just wanted to save his face.

Max didn't want to stay with all those people trying to talk to her, so she rushed in the girls dorm where she could still hear some noise from outside but at least no one tried to talk to her.

Until she saw a girl she absolutely did not want to see. Victoria Chase.

"Hey Max, or should I say hero of Arcadia Bay?" Max couldn't quiet make out if she wanted to offend or compliment her, but didn't have the energy to care about her classmate's opinion anymore she just said what was in her mind. "Please just get out of my way, Victoria."

"What the... Who the fuck do you think you are? Do you think you're something better now just because you may did something good once in your life?"

"No... No I don't. I just think that you have... You know what, nevermind what I just wanted to say, you're right I think I'm a better person than you, not trying to pull everyone else down to feel better about myself, even if I already have everything I ever wanted."

"Yeah right, and here she goes, from hero to freak in a split second, do you flip a coin on what you want to be each day, Miss Selfie. You don't know what it means to have expectations."

Max just ignored the poor attempt of stealing some more time from her, and went straight into her room.

The first thing Max did was watering Lisa. Then she threw herself on her bed, while listening to 'Piano fire by Sparkhouse'. She just wanted to lay down right here for the rest of her life, not needing to be concerned about Chloe, the storm, her own feelings or anything else.

_God damn it, that just turned out great! Didn't I tell myself that I would give myself up for Chloe? If she would know everything she would understand me I think, but I can't tell her... maybe she would come to the same conclusion as the other Chloe. I won't sacrifice you for anything. I love this damn girl way to much..._

Max started remembering the feeling of Chloe sleeping cuddled with her _This was such a great morning for both of us! And I pout because she moved her head? Whats wrong with me? This is not even about me, if I can't make her happy everyone'll fucking die._

Suddenly someone knocked on the door

"Max? It's me, Kate. I-I wanted to talk to you, may I come in?"

"Kate I'm sorr... you know what why not it's not like I don't need someone to talk right now." The door opened and she let herself in, with a kind yet shy smile.

_Wowser Kate is looking good! Well it figures, she was never bullied here. Most people must have felt rather sorry for her, after hearing what happened. Thanks god... I don't think I could save you again._

"Max, I'm worried about you. Everyone may tries to make you the hero, which you _are_ even if you doubt it yourself, but you're also just a girl like me... and I can see something is troubling you." She explained while making herself comfortable at the sofa.

"I... Jeez, it's hard to talk about those things... Two days ago I met my, well formerly best friend... and, well we just fought and I think I may fucked up for good."

"Ahh I've seen you two in the corridor yesterday. Blue hair? Always swearing?" Max chuckled at Kate's description of Chloe, before falling back into a more serious mood.

"I... was not a good friend to her, I left her while she was going through the hardest time of her life... I didn't even send her a message or anything. I left her alone for fife years. At first she was really angry at me, for a good reason no doubt about that, but... I felt like we could be friends again... I didn't notice until recently but I think I'm crushing on her." Kate didn't say anything only nodding quietly and letting Max go on.

_I was so stupid... I want to make Chloe happy while lying to her? Am I nuts? She knows me inside out, all my habits, ways of talking, she probably knows more about me than I do... How can I possibly lie to her? Save Arcadia Bay while perishing myself? Would that make Chloe happy? Even if she does not love me, she showed me today that she cares about me... I wish she was here right now._

"I-I love her... so so much, but I'm pretty sure she doesn't feel the same way, and I sure as hell, don't want to risk our friendship over my selfish feelings. I just want her to be happy even if that means I won't get what I want! But today she wanted me to explain myself to her because she knew that I was hiding something from her and I... I just ran away like I did before."

"Max," Kate suddenly raised her voice "I don't know exactly what happened between you two, but do you think running away forever from your friend'll help her _or_ you?"

"Hell, it'll kill me!"

"That's just what I expected you would say. So what you need to do right now is go meet her, if she's indeed worthy of your love, she'll understand that there're things you don't want to talk about, at least not immediately. Even if she does not love you she must still think of you as a close friend, she did forgive you for all those years as well didn't she? Also you should stop with all that swearing." Kate said while winking at freckled girl.

Both girls chucked a bit on that comment. "You're right Kate. Of course you are. The person I want to see right now is the one I tried to push away the most. I... sorry but I think I'll have to see her now." Max said with an apologetic look on her face.

"Oh I won't bother you anymore then. Looks like my job is done anyway." _Damn how can she emit such a bright light. Kate you're the real hero, why does nobody see that?_

* * *

Chloe could not believe it. She ran. Again! The worst thing about it was, that Chloe couldn't be mad at her. And oh boy she could get angry fast, but with Max? There was something stopping her anger from becoming more than a spark, when she would normally have a whole forest fire inside of her.

Sitting in Two Whales and shoveling a big omelet in her mouth, while letting out a angry groan, she wanted to be angry, but as soon as she started to think about how she acted towards her childhood friend she couldn't stop but feel guilty. _Since yesterday the nerd did everything for me, but it has been 5 fucking years without her even thinking about me... well maybe not for her because of her time travel bull, which I'll never be able to understand if she doesn't stop hiding herself from me... Geez! and all I can do is force myself on her even more? If I imagine someone trying to force me to talk about Rachel, or Dad... I can't even blame her for being mad at me... but I didn't mean any harm, I even told her so! Did I fuck our friendship over just now? It felt so good having her back, everything around us changed. The town, the people around us even our appearance... But it felt like we both didn't change one bit since she left for Seattle. Well she got a hella lot cuter for sure but that doesn't change the fact that she doesn't trust me even after I opened up about Rachel._

Suddenly she noticed her mother watching her from behind the counter. "What? Do I have something on my face?" The punk said in are more sassy tone then she wanted to.

"Calm down, young lady! It's still me you're talking too."

"Yes, yes I know so why did you stare at me since I came in? It's not like I never have breakfast here... it's pretty much the opposite."

"Why I'm staring at you? Well this is exactly why." Joyce pointed her finger at Chloe's face.

"You stare at me because of me? Mom seriously..." _Jeez I just played right into her hands, didn't I?_

"Are you alright, darling? Yesterday you looked a lot happier than I've seen you in years, and today you sit here and pout. Did you fight with Max, already?" Chloe sighed because she knew she wouldn't be able to hide anything really important from her mother, so she decided to be honest and tell her what happened since Joyce left early for the diner and didn't hear the two girls fight.

"Oh my, looks like you did what you do best again."

"Destroy everything dear to me? Well thanks Mom."

"No silly. Being overprotective. She's a grown up now, you should trust her some more, besides you're not really mad at Max, am I right?" _Damn you're good, Mother Price_

"I... am not sure myself... sure as hell don't want to fight with Max, seeing her again felt like a dream, she changed so much but she's still the little geeky nerd from before I... missed so much."

Remembering the morning Chloe was reminded of waking up not next to her friend but literally on her. _She was awake at that time did it not feel uncomfortable for her? Well, at least it wasn't for me. Smelling her scent and hearing her voice whisper in my ear first thing in the morning... not a damn thing could have been better. Wait a moment this almost sounds like I... No, no, nope! It's just that I missed her so much, that must be it!_ Chloe pushed those weird thoughts away for now, not being to sure where that came from. _Before Mom can use one of her i-read-my-daughters-thoughts-ability again._

"Hearing that you're happy gives me bliss, but you know who you should be talking to darling. So for once move your bottom. And I mean _talking_ , work things out. She may needs time, but does that really concern you? If she can't tell you everything right now, where is the problem in waiting, it's not like she's out of reach again, she's right here in front of you, and all you have to do is move your bottom for once!"

"Y-you're right," Chloe sighed "I... I just want to know what she thinks like before." Then Chloe said something what surprised both of them equally "... love you Mom."

"Where did that came from? Don't you think some sweet words'll get yourself a free meal, young lady." Her mother said with a smirk on her face.

"No, I know that, it... it just felt like it has been to long since I last told you how much I actually love you... I'm sorry for not being always the daughter you deserve..." But before the water, which started to gather in her eyes, could start flowing out, her mother was already hugging her.

"Not so big and mature anymore? Now go, you and me both don't want to cry in front of my guests. Go call Max." Chloe nodded and went outside to message her friend... best friend when she suddenly got a message herself.

**MAX : I know I've been an asshole, and you got pretty much no reason to read or answer this but, could we try to talk? Like from person to person**

**MAX : If you want to meet me just text me**

Chloe couldn't help but snort as she read the text.

**CHLOE : Holy shit... did you just read my mind?**

**CHLOE : There is nothing I would rather do than sort things out with you!**

**CHLOE : Not like I didn't wanted to do that this morning...**

**MAX : Ouch :(**

**CHLOE : No Emoji!**

**CHLOE : Sorry no time for jokes, shall I go pick you up right now?**

**Max : perfect, waiting at the parking lot!**

**Max : and thanks for giving me a second chance Che**

**CHLOE : Sitting in the car now tell me how awesome I am when I'm there**

**Max : dork!**

* * *

Max was waiting in the parking lot for Chloe, when suddenly Samuel Taylor, janitor of Blackwell approached her.

"Hey Samuel." Max always liked the calmness surrounding Samuel.

"Hey Max, Samuel just wanted to thank you! Since you discovered what was going on in this school the animals started visiting Blackwell again."

"What do you mean? There were always some squirrel you were feeding, weren't there?"

"Ahh yes, but those're my squirrel, they don't come because of Blackwell, but because I'm here. But after his arrest a lot of different friends visited again, birds, bugs, and just right now Samuel saw a doe! They feel save again, thanks to you!"

At that moment a car came closer. It was Chloe's truck. Max waved her hands so that the blue haired girl would notice her.

"Sorry Samuel, but I need to go now, have a nice day" _I_ _Would have loved to hear about the doe, but I can't let Chloe wait after what I did this morning._ Max thought while wandering off.

As Max approached her friend, she couldn't stop smiling while playing with the thought that Samuel's story would be a good sign for her and Chloe.

"You know it's hella unfair, I want to be mad at you but the first thing you do is show me your cute smile." Chloe said while leaning out of the window. _Did she just call me cute?_

"I know..." Seeing how the girl in the car quirked one of her eyebrows Max quickly added, "I mean that you're mad at me, not the cute part... but thanks. Lets... lets do this somewhere else Che, you know Blackwell just as good as I do. Slander is like breathing here."

"You won't get in trouble leaving? You still should have classes, or am I wrong?

"It's fine, Mr Wells gave me an allowance to cut classes."

"Wow dude, I would have killed for something like that ."

Max hoped into the truck and they started to drive away from the school.

"So, you wanted to talk?" _Looks like Chloe can't wait, well I should be happy about it_

"Listen, you... can we maybe do that when you don't drive? Where're we headed anyways?"

"American rust of course!"

"Are you... are you sure about that?" Max didn't want to remind her friend where the police found the corpse of Rachel but she also didn't want even more drama.

"Yes, but thanks for asking." She took a deep breath before saying the next few words "I need to move on... I need to let her go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's it for now ^^
> 
> if you still read this I guess I should thank you for reading my story so far ^^
> 
> I know this chapter a bit shorter than the first, but I'll probably make them a bit shorter from now on. Sorry :p


	3. Who are you?

"Can I have some, too?"

"What? Wait you actually want...?"

"I would take anything that'll make this discussion easier, right now."

The punk, sitting in front of the person she thought was her best friend Maxine Caulfield, could not believe what she just heard. Max wanted to smoke? Weed? With her? On this rusty old boat?

"Okay, I thought I was the one who changed a lot in the past 5 years, looks like I am wrong. You're not joking right?"

"I don't really feel like joking... would be great if you wouldn't be either."

"So serious talk then? Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." With that said she passed her joint to Max, who hesitated for a moment "For a moment I thought you were serious about smoking."

Being a bit annoyed by the girl sitting on the other end of the table, Max just took a pull and... coughed.

"Ha, so this really was your 'smoke-defloration'? Dude, I really need some new nicknames for you, now!"

Still coughing Max couldn't believe that her best friend was joking around at a time like this.

_I didn't came here so that she could make fun of me! She knows how important that is for me and yet she still-_

"Max Weedfield? Naaa that's lame as hell."

_Is she trying to provoke me? God damn it, can't she take anything serious? Am I not important to her?_

"How about Bob Maxley?"

"Or how about shut up?" Max answered bitchier than she intended to.

With a sudden smugly smirk on her face Chloe asked "Am I a pain in the ass?"

_Damn it! YES, you are, but I don't want to fight with you because of some stupid jokes!_

"N-No, of course not..."

Suddenly Chloe stopped smiling and narrowed her eyes to slits.

"You're doing it again."

"I'm doing what, again? I'm here talking to you! I won't run away!" Max was a bit upset by that accusation.

"Dude, you're scared to tell me that I'm getting on your nerves. I hella don't know what happened while you showered but... before that you were like... giving me the strength I needed, but now just look at you! It's like your body is here, but your mind is still in the past. It's tearing you apart. You can't be in two places at the same time."

"You don't know how right you are... do you think I have fun being like that? Any choice I would do, no matter the outcome, I could just turn back in time and do everything right. But now everything I say and do is set in stone!"

"Dude, that's just life you're talking about."

"I know, I know. That's how it's supposed to be but... but it's so terrifying. I saw you die, do you know how that made me feel, Chloe? You were so reckless sometimes and I was always worried something might happen to you, and when you got hurt it took something from me... every time over and over again, at some point seeing you die again, didn't shock me anymore but it felt like a puzzle I had to solve to save you."

"That... sounds messed up."

"Doesn't it? When I realised that, I couldn't look into the mirror anymore. But why am I even telling you that you don't even know wha-"

"Yes, exactly! I. Don't. Know. You."

Those words scared Max so much that her eyes started watering but before she could say anything Chloe raised her voice again.

"You need to let the past me go, just then'll we be able to be friends again. If you don't stop hiding behind a smile I'll never know the you, sitting right next to me. I don't need you being polite as fuck, or laughing at my jokes, I just want my best friend back. For me you've just come back from Seattle. And while you and me changed in time it's not like you don't know me, actually you know everything about me, from some weird other time-line."

"Know you? Are you fucking kidding me? Mark Jefferson, Nathan, Rachel, even a friend of mine tried to kill herself! Do you honestly think we had time to have a super-duper reunite party? Most of the time we were either solving murder cases or tried to prevent them. One week full of horror."

"Please, whats one week against fucking 5 years of isolation. Your week full of horror was probably the best week in years for me." Chloe spit out.

 _Ouch, but she's probably right_... Max thought.

"The... accident aside, you were always good with people but I... I only had you to talk to. When you left for Seattle I... could only think about you the whole time! And then when I finally thought that my life was going into a good direction again, with me and Rachel planing to flee to California, she was taken from me."

"Wait a second, you make it sound like I never missed you. Even if I'll never be able to imagine how it must have been for you the past years, trying to tell me that I had it easy is a joke. Me good with people? It took me about 4 years before I made any friends in Seattle. You even said it yourself, I can be friendly to anyone, but being Max Caulfied works only when this blue haired punkster is right next to me."

Both girls started blushing a bit after that, and there was a pause in their argument. But then Max broke the silence again.

"Why do you think I came back to Arcadia bay in the first place? Blackwell may be a good school, but in Seattle there were plenty other options for me. I missed you."

"Even if I may don't sound like it I am happy to see you again Max, I don't even want to think about what I would do if you weren't here with me." The punk confessed with a hearth breaking tone in her voice.

"Chloe... you're the strong one here, living like that for so long? All alone? You always stood up against everything fate threw at you. You can't even imagine how much I need your strength."

"But why do you try to push me away then? I'll be there for you, as soon as you need me."

"But I was not! How can I assume that you'll be there if I wasn't. You ask me why I hide my feelings? Because I'm scared, that's why."

"Do you really think I would leave you hanging with all that drama messing you up, sure not nice to expect that from me..."

"Of course not! Ughh, that's not what I meant... I'm not scared of you, hell it's pretty much the opposite..." Seeing that she hit a nerve, she wanted to redirect their conversation, since it wasn't her intention to accuse Chloe of anything. But before she could justify what she said, Chloe sighed and started talking with a surprisingly gentle expression on her face.

"Max, before we go on with this I want to explain something to you... I want to let you know that if you don't want to talk about the past... that's fine. I won't force you to do anything anymore, I swear. I would rather have you here with me chilling, doing best friend stuff. And it was sooo not right of me to try to pull out thing you don't want to share."

"... That's so not fair. You deserve to hear everything... it's just me being a selfish asshole."

"I'll just wait until you think you're ready to talk about everything, okay?"

"Che... I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell you everything..."

"Well, than I guess I'll just wait forever." Chloe said with a shrug.

"Wowser... I really do _not_ deserve you." Max said while she thought _I love you_ "And there sure is some stuff I can tell my best friend? Would that be okay for you, only hearing parts of it, for the time being?"

"I just told you didn't I? Stop worrying about me."

"Don't make that sound so easy, you secretly conquered a special spot in my hearth Price. Are we... are we cool again?"

"I never was really mad at you in the first place. Disappointed maybe, but more than anything else I want you to be my friend again. Of course we're cool!"

Max, now weeping a bit, stood up and hugged her friend, who nearly fell out of her chair.

"Whoa easy, partner."

"I promised myself one thing when I came back, Chloe. I would do anything to prevent you from getting hurt again. And now, me myself nearly was the reason for that." The bigger girl started petting the head of the sobbing girl in her arms.

"Sounds like I've got an awesome sistah."

"Maybe if I try to tell you this step by step it'll be easier for me... I could start with something from the beginning? Like how you and I met."

"Oho that sounds interesting."

"Well... I got those weird powers pretty much right after you had a fight with Nathan in the bathroom... and he shot you."

"That didn't happen thanks to a certain super-Max, am I right?"

"I'm not all that super, actually just moments later, Nathan tried to assault me and you saved me from him... that's how we actually met face to face for the first time."

"Amazeballs! So we're like hero and side-kick?" By now both girls were smirking at each other.

"So we reunited in a totally different situation?"

"Yes... we didn't knew at that time what really happened to Rachel, so you still had a lot of hope inside of you."

"... I don't know if I would have liked to stay that way. To be honest, the insecurity of not knowing if Rachel may had left without me, was killing me slowly. A-Anyways, tell me, how was I... well, the other me, you know what I mean."

"An Idiot for sure, but also very brave. Without you I would have never learned who was behind all of this. You were always there helping me not to loose my path."

"Hey, that sounds like me!" Chloe said with a grin on her face.

"Well, most of the times at least, but then you also did some really stupid stuff... you actually shot yourself while playing with a gun you stole from David."

"Hey, that sounds like me!" Chloe repeated while chuckling a bit.

"It really does, and that's what scares me the most. You never cared about your own safety..." Max fell silent.

"H-Hey, Have I, o-or the other me... gosh that stuff is messing with my head, already shown you my clubhouse?"

"Well I've seen it before, but I think I never went in there with you."

"Then what're we waiting for? Lets go, come on! I wanna show you something!" Chloe said, while nearly dropping the smaller girl on the floor.

"Uhm, okay?" Max answered, but she was hoping that they wouldn't find anything that could remember Chloe of memory's with Rachel. _The last time I saw the clubhouse it was full with stuff from her time with Rachel... does she really want to do this? Well, maybe seeing something that reminds her of the deep friendship they had, will actually help Chloe._

Once the blue haired girl entered the shed, or whatever that 'clubhouse' has been long ago, without hesitation, Max stopped being overly wary. And to her surprise the inside of the clubhouse was rather tidy.

If she reminded correctly some thing were even missing, like Rachel's make up. While most of the photos were still there, a lot of them were put aside. _She is really trying to accept all of this isn't she?_ Max thought, being a bit proud of Chloe.

"So? What do you think of my little hideout?" Chloe asked while spreading her arms.

"To be honest, if it's not to cold at night I could imagine you sleeping here. Wait you actually did, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well, sometimes, when I had some of my more heated up fights with David. This little room is like an escape for me. Even after all that happened I still feel kinda safe here, stupid isn't it?"

"No, not at all." Max said in an understanding undertone.

Max then got rather curious what the other girl, who was pulling out a key and opening the locker on the wall, was up to, so she came over to take a peak inside.

"Ha, I knew you couldn't hide your nosiness, still Max Caulfield after all." Chloe said while pulling out a cassette.

"I'm not nosy, just curious!" Max said, while acting like that accusation offended her.

"That's pretty much the same, isn't it? I think you'll like the this." Chloe sat down on the seat, while patting on her own lap, right before realising that this suggestion may be a bit to close to each other. With a nod both of them sat down on the floor, the box between them.

"So are you going to tell me whats inside now, or what?" Max said, but Chloe couldn't stop herself from chuckling at the sight of her friend being so excited.

"Whats so funny, I'm really not noisy or anything but you're making it rather suspenseful right no-" Stopping in mid-sentence, Max saw that the whole box was full with photos of her and Chloe as kids.

"Y-you kept them for all those years? Even after... Look at us, we were so small in some of those." Max couldn't stop herself from crying out tears of joy while seeing all of this. "Gosh, I really looked terrible when I was 12, didn't I?"

"Whhaaaat!? No way! Cute kid Max is Cute! Look here's even a photo of us as pirates on Halloween."

"Best. Day. Ever." While Max couldn't stop herself from going through all those photos, at some point Chloe stopped looking at the pictures and started to peek at the excited girl right before her.

 _This is what I want Max, you're being you right now. That makes me so happy that I didn't throw them away. This day alone made everything worth it, even the fight I had with Rachel because of them. She always talked about letting my past go... what am I supposed to do now? Let Rachel go? Let Max go? No way in hell... Gosh, I don't know what it is, but seeing Max being happy right before me feels... right, like being complete again. She really got cute_ _freckles_ _now... and her hair is so fluffy I could pet her for days... she smells so lovely... What would it be like kissing her right now, hmmm... Stop that Chloe Elizabeth Price. What the hell am I doing, checking Max out? She, just wants her friend back, after what must have happened in those other time lines. Just friends. That's what I should be aiming for as well, not chewing on those lips. Those small...cute...tasty looking... WAIT nobody even said that she likes me... nobody even said that_ _I_ _like her, either. It must be because I've not seen her so for such a long time and all those memories are starting to boil up again...yes, there is just no way I would crush on some geeky innocent girl like her. Hella not my type!_

"Can I have another pull from that doobie? No need to be so surprised. You know, I may not look like it but I can be just as hardcore as you." Max said, not knowing that the reason for the expression on Chloe's face was not because of her asking for the joint but the things going through her head right now.

"Y-yea sure, hella hardcore, be careful not to chock again." Chloe finally answered while giving her the joint.

 _This time it didn't itch as much as it did earlier. Do I really start smoking now? Well, I guess it's time for a change. Also seeing Che with a surprised look on her face, made it already worth it._ Max thought after trying it again, as she started to obviously relax. While putting her head back, she saw something out of the corner of her eyes. A little note. She remembered this note. It couldn't be the note she was thinking about. No, she already knew it was. Why was it still here? Why was a Note here on which someone wrote "I WANT TO DIE".

_What is this thing still doing here? I thought Chloe did clean up so why wouldn't she throw away something like this away? Oh god, Should I ask her? What if she still thinks about... No, I must ask her!_

_"_ I'm sorry Che, but I've got to ask this-" Max needed to swallow her lump in her throat before she could continue her question. Chloe noticing the sudden change in atmosphere, and was also again fully attentive "I told you I was in here once without you... Did you ever think about... D-Did you write..." Not being able to finish her sentence she just pointed at the note lying on the ground and looked into Chloe's face hoping that she would understand what she was about to ask.

"I...fuck... Yes... yes I did write it, but listen I-." Max started wailing again, being confronted with the ugly truth she already suspected.

"God, I'm so sorry... This is all my fault."

"Hold it right there Max, look at that cassette, THAT is your fault. You're not to blame for the death of my father or Rachel. It was just a messed up time and it's passed me, okay?"

"No, it's not. You don't understand Che, I'll make sure that you'll never even think about something as horrible as that" With a hurt and disgusted expression she looked at the note again.

"You've got to understand, it was a really hard time for me, Rachel disappeared, you didn't call back and then I had a big fight with David... He actually tried to punch me, even if I may have deserved it, blaming him for Rachel and ultimately without any reason even for you and my father-" seeing her friend cry right before her, she fell into panic knowing that the good mood she tried to build up just got destroyed by a piece of paper she forgot to throw away.

"L-listen, hey... thanks to you all of that'll never happen again. Thanks to you I could make peace with steph-assho... _David_. A-and you helped me get through with Rachel's death. Right now I have the best time of my life, thanks to you! Please Max... if you don't stop crying I think I won't be able to hold back as well."

Max took a deep breath before raised her head and grabbing Chloe's shoulders unintentionally hard "Never. Ever. If you ever think about this again, even for a second, I'll personally smack the living shit back into you" Max said not being able to hold back her anger at her friend "There... There is no pirate crew with just one pirate, no partner in crime, when I don't have a partner, no... no box full of wonderful memories without a Chloe Elizabeth Price, don't you forget that!"

The punk could just barely hold herself back from crying as well. "Well, at least now there is a job for you to do! Babysitter for lifetime! And don't you dare run away from me again Maxine Caulfield. We may got one cassette, but I want at least one hundred more, you hear me?"

While burying her face in Chloe's chest, she could only stammer an approving "hmhm"

"Pinky promise?"

While Max wailed another "Hmhm" she took the blue-nailed little finger and hooked it into her own. The two girls, Max sitting in Chloe's lap while holding hands with her, didn't care about anything for the time being. They were just two souls who had felt to much pain in their life, wanting to be hold by one another.

Chloe wanted to stop her friend from thinking about this note, so she needed the conversation to distract her "Want some more of my doobie? I think we both need some feel-good-magic right now." As if she waited to be asked, Max took another pull from the cigarette.

Chloe, tried to use a deep voice while saying "Your captain is surprised Max. Did the lack of salt water in Seattle make my first mate go all soft? Just a mere piece of paper, and you're already on your knees?" Max smiled at the attempt to cheer her up.

"No sir, it's just the food is really bad here, should we board Two Whales and see if we can get something more tasty than... well, salty tears?"

"Sounds good to me, all abort the ship... with wheels."

As the two girls stepped outside of the shed they suddenly they heard someone scream across the junkyard "Hey Chloe! I know you're here somewhere. Stop that hiding-bull we need to talk!"

Max remembered that voice but before she could say anything Chloe pulled her already down on her knees.

"Fucking...hell... shit... fuck!" Were the only things she could understand from Chloe's whispering, while falling on the ground and hiding behind one of the car wrecks.

"What the fuck is Frank doing here, Che?"

"He must have seen me, when I drove here from Two Whales, he sometimes hangs around the parking lot there."

"Let me talk to him, maybe I could -"

"What the hell? I don't know how much you think you can do about my debts, but I won't let you run into the arms of some psycho just for a 'maybe', for now lets just get the hell out here okay?"

 _Maybe Chloe is right, this is certainly not the best time for me to deal with this, at some point I'll have to I know, but right now I feel really drained. Must have been my crying. I must really stop crying all the time. Get yourself together_ Max!

"Okay, so whats the plan, Captain. It's your hideout, so do you have any secret escape route, Frank doesn't know?" Max asked the girl peeking over the wreck.

"Well, we could try to-" Chloe interrupted herself from what she was about to say after noticing something on Frank.

"That bastard?! How did he get her bracelet?" Chloe said through her teeth. _Fuck, how can I forget about something like this? I can't let her rush him like last time, this'll end bad if I'm not upfront right now, otherwise she won't understand._

"Listen Chloe, This is not the time for you attacking him, he has a knife with him. I know that for sure, I've been a similar situation already!" Max begged the angry girl to be reasonable.

"Fuck it. You also know from where he got the bracelet?" Chloe asked. Max didn't want to make any sounds so she only nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Are you cereal? We were just talking about it!"

"THAT'S something I'm not supposed to know?!" Chloe got louder, she didn't scream yet, but it was still loud enough for Frank to hear her.

"HEY, I knew you would be here somewhere!" He said while pointing a finger at them.

"SHIT." Max grabbed Chloe's hand and ran for the railroad tracks. After a few seconds of resistance the bigger girl started giving in and ran right behind her friend. Both of them were panicking way to much to hear the ominous Man saying "HEY, I just want to talk to you, CHLOE!"

* * *

At some point they stopped following the rail tracks feeling that Frank could track them down to easily if he really did follow them, they started heading into the forest. When both of them came to a stand Chloe said, being out of breath after their sprint "Holy fuck, did you ever consider to start track and field instead of photography in Seattle?"

"Nope, just got a magic trick for times like that, it's called 'healthy lung'" Max said with a wink.

While giving her friend a faint smile and a middle finger, Chloe was still surprised about what just happened

"Dude, I hella get it now."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean? You just saved me! Again! Do you really think I would have hidden myself behind trash, if I would have been alone. Especially after seeing what Frank has around his arm? And even after you explain to me that I always act hella stupid, the first thing I do is act hella stupid." Out of nowhere, Chloe started laughing at the realization.

"Are you cereal? That was so not funny at all Che..." After letting out a sight, Max made a small grin as well. "Are you... you're not mad at me, or anything? I mean, you did sound like that just moments ago."

"Naaa, for a moment to much blood rushed into my head. You know me... even with blue hair I'm still as hot headed as I used too be. Anyways, Are you... able to talk about Frank and Rachel? Not trying to be pushy, I swear, but I would at least like to know if it's worth asking why someone like Frank Bowers has Rachel's bracelet? I-it's fine if you don't tell me. Of course you can't... Stupid question. Sorry."

 _Nope, You're not sorry. Not at all. You're freaking eager to hear what I'm about to say, and don't you think I don't know why you make that_ _mournful expression, right now!_ _Like I could say no that that face! Well, if I were in her shoes I would want an answer as well. Guess, I can tell her about Frank and Rachel, but I should try to be sentimental about it. And best not mention that Frank claimed that Rachel wanted to leave this town with HIM and not with her_ Max thought while letting out a sigh, which signaled the sulky girl that she had won.

"They... I honestly don't know everything about it but I think he and Rachel were... ehm well, they were dating or something like that."

"Bullshit. Rachel would never start something with some drug dealing looser."

_I can't blame her for not believing me. Her 'angel' wouldn't just hide something from her, or so she thinks at least._

"Listen Chloe, they had _something_ , I never got close enough to any of them to tell me, so trying to tell you anything about their relationship would be stupid, but I know one thing for sure: In the other time line Frank let you off the hook when he heard that we were looking for Rachel. Even if Rachel didn't love him, which non of us'll probably ever know, he loved her. And that's what you shouldn't forget here, even if he can be an asshole Frank is still heartbroken just like you."

"But why... why wouldn't she tell me anything about it then? She didn't trust me, did she?" Chloe stared at Max for a moment, expecting an answer, before realizing that even the girl who always seemed to know the answer to all her questions, couldn't possibly know about Rachel's feelings.

"Hello? Chloe? Do you really think she would do anything to hurt you? You two were best friends, weren't you? She probably _didn't_ want to hurt your feelings. You were never good at hiding your feelings so she probably knew how you felt about her." _I can't give her the truth, but at least I can try to ease her mind of thoughts like that._

Instead of crying or being angry, Chloe started smiling again and hugged the girl before her, which took a load off from Max's mind.

"How is it possible that you, even you have no idea what you're talking about, always have just the right words for me?" Chloe asked.

"I'm hella Amazeballs, duhh." Max said while trying to imitate Chloe's voice.

"Starting to act like me out of the _'blue'_ now, huh?"

"Wow, and I thought _I_ made bad jokes."

Both girls couldn't take the others goofing anymore and started cackling.

"Okay, okay, but seriously Che, where the hell are we?" Seeing the face the other girl was doing Max let out a "Oh,please tell me you-"

"It can't be to hard to find the way back home can it. C'mon don't make the 'we're doomed' face if we didn't even try it!" Chloe said while she winked at her friend.

* * *

In the end it took them about two hours before they found a street that let them back into Arcadia bay. The sun slowly started setting, as the two girls walked the secluded street. Just the two of them. Sometimes a Car drove past them, but aside from that they didn't see a single person on the way. But they didn't mind the solitude at all. They just enjoyed their walk together. They talked about their lives. Chloe didn't try to guilt trip Max, and Max didn't blame herself more than she already had. They just tried getting to know each other again.

"So, in five years you made two friends... that's a disturbing ratio. Tell me about them!"

"Well, there's Fernando, he's... well, most of the time he's rather silent, but you can say what you want about him, if you need someone to talk to there's no better listener than him. Aside from that he is really good at pretty much everything that has to do with computers. I and Kristen still believe he was born on a planet, way more advanced then ours." Max whispered.

"Ohh? A boy? You? Next you're going to tell me that you had a boyfriend." Chloe may sounded like she was joking but she was actually quiet eager to hear Max answer. T _here is no need for me to be so nosy, but it wouldn't hurt to at least know if she likes boys... Gosh what am I even thinking._

"Me? With Fernando? Eww! And no, there was no one who courted me. No prince... nor a princess." Chloe's heart unwillingly skipped a beat, after hearing what her friend just said.

"Besides, Fernando and Kristen were already dating even before I first met them. And they're a wonderful couple, I wouldn't dare trying to get between them. Sometimes I felt a bit left out, but I guess they didn't intend to do that."

"Kristen? Tell me about her! Any competition for the blue punk?"

"Hell, I don't think there would be enough space in my heart for another Chloe, so nope, no competition at all." Max said with a shy smile on her face, which let blood run into Chloe's cheeks. _You can't give me a smile like that and expect me not to fall for it, just staaaaap, you god damn hippie!_

Not noticing the expression the bigger girl was doing right next to her Max went on with her story. "But Kristen still is a lot of fun to be with. She is pretty much the definition of a bouncy ball, not being able to stay at one point for more than 5 seconds, aside from that she has a really beautiful face, some artists even offered to draw her, but she never could wanted to hold still long enough. That's why she liked my photos so much. A 'click' was _just_ long enough for her to stay on one spot."

_Beautiful? Like being cute as in 'a puppy is cute ' or being attractive as in 'Catwoman is attractive'? Can't you be at least a BIT more specific! I fucking can't ask her that thought, can I? I doesn't even deny it anymore, I've fallen for the girl right next to me. I give up. Fuck. That's not supposed to happen. She is my sistah not my dyke... Isn't she?_

"Everything okay up there?" Max asked after noticing that Chloe wasn't following the conversation.

"Uh I ehh... Sorry, this has just been a fucking long day for me..."

"I feel ya. I want nothing more than a bed right now. Would you mind if I sleep at your place today? I don't think I have the energy left to go back to Blackwell."

"No problemo. But two sleepovers in one week? You want to break your high score of the past years, amiright? And this time without me, trying to push you into even more drama, promise!"

While Chloe was already making planes for the night like deciding which movie they would watch, or what games they would play, Max had only one thing on her mind.

_She survived another day._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> Hope you enjoy reading the chapter, as much as I did writing it :3
> 
> I tried to make the long conversation the two girls had not overly romantic for one reason: Both have other things on their mind. Well, Chloe is rather obvious, but Max is scared to push everything onto Chloe and maybe make the storm bigger again that's why I try to make her insecure if it comes to important choices (Also because she doesn't dares to use her power anymore)
> 
> If you didn't like anything about the story so far I don't mind you telling me, I'm tough if it come's to critic ;)
> 
> And as always, if you find any mistakes feel free to point them out to me! :3


	4. Get to know you again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on I'll try to make my chapters a bit shorter. I don't have the time at hand to write as much as I would like to, so my chapters'll be ~2-3k words. Sorry about that :P

"Nope, there's no way we're going to play Mario party. It was always the same when we played it. I won all the games and yet you got all the stars somehow. Fuck that Bowser-space!"

"What can I say? You may be good at simple button smashing but when it comes to tactics no one can beat the one and only Max Caulfield."

Sitting in on the floor right next to the bed the two girls couldn't decide what they should play next, when suddenly Joyce knocked on the door.

"Hey, it's great to see my two favorite girls together again, but it's already late, and some of us have to work tomorrow so could you turn it down, just a little bit? By the way, don't you have school tomorrow, Max? Don't let my daughter influence your school-career." Chloe rolled her eyes upon hearing her mothers scolding.

"I know... I planned to start going regularly again next week, I think I'm just not ready yet... And sorry for being so loud." Max answered with a smile, but then she thought _I've got no idea if I want to go to that school ever again, but if everything goes according to plan, I'll probably have to anyways._

 _"Awww_ c'mon Ma, it's no fun without her around! What am I supposed to do when she's all day at school. Ughh, wait don't tell me, I can already see your answer. I know I'll have to try to start working somehwere."

Hearing that, Joyce smiled, and close the door softly again.

With a sight Chloe crawled into her side of the bed while asking "By the way, how's your school life? Someone needs a beating? Please tell me, right now I would do a lot to let out some stress."

"Uhh scary Chloe is scary. My school life hmmm... well, until now Most people didn't even know my name so I could lay low and sing small. You know me I never was great with opening up to people. But now everyone knows my face and thinks I am some kind of hero." Max answered while moving out of her hooded sweater, and revealing her belly for a moment.

"Which you are, by the way. But no one caught your interest? No cute skater boy? No hot hipster girl?" Chloe asked while she tried to not check out the girl, changing right next to her, but her eyes kept wandering back to the visible navel.

"Nope, no one. Doesn't mean I don't have any friends thought. There're some good folks in Blackwell, like Warren, a nerdy guy who always helps me with my science homework. I really suck at it to be honest." Max said, but she still noticed how interested her friend was if and who she likes.

_Is she interested in my love life? Maybe she... no Maxine Caulfield you're reading to much into it. You also shouldn't concern her with your feelings. She doesn't want to know if you're straight or anything she's just interested in knowing me again. It's just girls talk, in which you just have pretty much no experience._

"No need to worry, you won't believe me but I was actually pretty good in school. No need to go to any study-dates with that what-was-his-name-again?"

"Ahh come on! What do you mean by study dates?"

But Chloe could see that she just hit the spot and started having a evil grin on her face

"Okay, jeez, it's pretty obvious that he wants more." Max sighted, knowing that Chloe would not give up so easily.

"And you don't want anything else from him, besides being friends?"

"Hell no..."

Hearing that Max was not interested in this boy, Chloe was relieved but at the same time she decided that it would be fun to tease her a little bit.

"How can you be so certain about that? I bet you tried all kind of kinky stuff with him and then just traveled back in time."

"I-I would never do something like that, Che!" Max said, but then she reminded herself that she actually did something similar once... but with Chloe... and a bet about a kiss.

Max slowly noticed how blood started flowing in her cheeks so she tried to change the subject. She knew that the Chloe right before her was not feeling like she did, but being right next to her again Max felt the strange urge to close the distance between her and the punk. _I can't risk fucking this up. What if she actually doesn't like me... yet. Wait. That's it. I just have to make her fall for me again... Yeah right, as if I would have the guts to actually do anything like flirting._

"It's good that I'm the one with all the super power it's seems that you still have to learn that with great power comes great responsibility." Max said trying to sound serious.

"Pff, whats that supposed to mean, Spider Max? I may have the looks of a villain, which are by the way always hotter than the heroes, but I would never dare to play with super natural powers..." Both girls let out a "pfff" before laughing "Yeah, right."

But something still bugged Chloe, she didn't expect the lovely, cute little hippie to have an admire. _Why am I so surprised? It's not like I can't understand this... Waldo?_ Chloe caught herself staring into Max face which caused her stomach to twist a bit. _She seems so... full of life. Nothing like me. It feels like I am just a bee who discovered the sweetest flower in the whole world... and I'm trying to suck away all of it. She hella does not deserve me. But am I even able to touch you without being the cause of you withering away._

The two girls were now lying right next to each other on Chloe's bed. While Max had her eyes closed, Chloe tried to memorize every little freckle on the face of the brunette. Letting out a quiet sight the punk asked "And what do you plan to do with your male acquaintances?" hoping that Max wouldn't notice the hidden fear the question contained. But this fear disappeared, as soon as she saw the apologetic expression Max did, while still having her eyes closed.

"I really don't want to hurt his feelings or anything, but he's just a friend..." Max was a bit embarrassed, which amused her friend yet again.

"Don't worry, with me by your side, you won't go to to any dates with a shady not-so-much-womanizer." She said still studying the face of the brunette next to her.

Max opened her eyes slowly, while the girl next to her hectically tried to stop staring at her like she did just until now. Max tried to change the topic as fast as possible knowing that Chloe enjoyed her being embarrassed.

"A-anyways, there's also a girl named Kate, who's probably the descendant of some saint. She's ridiculously kind. Like, yesterday, after my... breakout, I talked to her and she handed out some good advice's. She's also pretty, but way to shy to actually notice that herself."

Chloe did not expect Max to say something like that. Nor did she like the twist in her guts getting stronger. This Kate sounded important to Max. And pretty. So there was another girl, who knew this new amazing Max better than Chloe did. And also she was pretty. The twist slowly went upwards into her throat. Chloe slowly turned away from the small girl next to her, and felt the warm coming from her slowly fade away so she tried to cuddle more into her blanket. _Pretty?_

 _God, she just said she's pretty. She can't mean Kate Marsh can she? I'm acting like she wants to jump that Kate... and I'm still fucking jealous._ Chloe thought.

"So what about you? I never really asked you if you have any real friends besides Rachel." Max asked, not noticing how tense the girl next to her had become.

"There were some folks I hang out with, but who cares if you have Kate, right?" Chloe's sourness surprised her even more than the girl lying next to her.

Max's body slowly raised up, but Chloe couldn't dare to see the expression the brunette probably did right now. She didn't want to move or even worse, turn around. She only grabbed her pillow it against her.

"Is everything okay Che? I... Have I said something wrong? If-If you don't want to talk about you that's fine." Hearing the shaky voice Chloe would have loved to punch herself right now, but instead she managed to turn around to see that Max was... scared. _Withering away, thanks to fucking me._ A voice in her head scolded the punk. _You're no good for her._

"Hey... Sorry I'm just hella tired right now. Looks like I can be a bitch if don't get my beauty sleep." Chloe didn't know if it was okay to lie to her friend, but seeing Max face relax again, it took a load of the punk's mind. Max lay down again and a silents fell over the two girls until they started falling asleep.

* * *

Max was inside of the nightmare again. As soon as she fell asleep she could feel her surrounding not being real. Knowing that... Max knew how this dream would play out, she would go to the lighthouse, she would see the storm which destroyed the town. But this time her punk friend was standing there waiting for her. Max still could feel a pain in her heart seeing 'her' Chloe standing right before her again. The Chloe who went through a whole week full of adventure and drama with her. The Chloe who kissed her. The Chloe who she loved more than anything. The Chloe who wanted to die to save the town.

"You won't make it in time Maxine." That accusation, which the girl right before her stated sounded like it was a fact, which made Max angry. She felt how her face was getting warmer, and warmer, and her fists were clenching to fists.

"Can't I have just one night without a freaking nightmare?" Those words let the bigger girl right before her falter for a moment. Seeing that Max sighted annoyed.

"Listen, I don't know what you want from me. You may act like Chloe, you even look like her, but I can tell that you're not the girl I love. She's sleeping right next to me. Alive. And I'll keep her that way. Save from _you_."

The face of the... thing next to her started to deform into a weird mass. Sometimes Max thought to see some kind of face, but always of a different person. Jefferson. Nathan. Then Chloe again. And then, while still having Chloe's voice, it said "So you'll sacrifice hundreds of people just because you think you're responsible for Chloe's life being as bad as it was? You don't even care about Chloe you just want the guilt to disappear."

"Of course I want to help her, Sherlock. That's what you try to do when you love someone. But why am I even trying to explain myself to you, you're just a ghost of my memory." Max said with a bitter smile on her face. She then turned around and was about to go.

"Love? I think you forgot something Maxine, you love _me_. You think I'm the imposter? The girl lying next to you is nothing more than an embarrassing try to save what you couldn't. She doesn't remember anything you two had together. I am whats left of _your_ Chloe."

Max turned around and stepped towards the weird being and grabbed it by the collar. Knowing that 'It' had won it formed a disgusting smile.

"You don't know anything. This girl is the best thing in my life. You think I don't love her because of some fucking memories? Hell, I'll just create new ones with her. I love this girl, and _no_ one'll ever change that!" Max started talking herself in rage getting louder and louder.

* * *

"HmmHMam"

Chloe woke up.

"AhmHPHm"

At first Chloe was not sure what was going on, but as soon as she saw Max, wallowing around, having a nightmare, she tried to wake up the fidgeting girl until she started talking.

"HMpFm... Hell... I'll just... I love this girl, and no one'll ever..."

For a second Chloe froze, but then she started shacking her friend even stronger "MAX!"

She woke up, gasping for breath. For a moment she didn't realize that she wasn't dreaming anymore. Max's eyes were searching the lighthouse, the forest, the being in front of her.

_The storm, I... I didn't notice the storm... was it bigger? smaller? Fuck!_

"What just happened? You always have hardcore nightmares like this?" A concerned Chloe was bent over the small girl.

"Sorry... It's just... well, the most recent events weren't easy on me." With that said, the punk sighted and showed an apologetic smile letting Max know that she shouldn't have asked such a stupid question.

"Everything okay now, thought?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine just a bit shaken." Max answered with a crumbling smile. Seeing the brunette being so vulnerable, Chloe wanted to embrace her, but reminded herself of what she just heard and put herself back into her side of the bed, while thinking _She loves someone? She doesn't want to talk about it? Why? Well she was always rather shy but..._ And with a sudden realization it all started to make sense. S _he said over and over again that she's here to safe my ass. Could it be that it's not because I'm her best friend, or not only because of that, maybe there is more to it. Maybe she fall for my awesomeness while time traveling..._

Chloe felt how her face formed a grin she couldn't suppress, and was grateful that it was dark in her room right now.

"Can... Can you talk about what you saw in the dream? Maybe it'll help you relax again."

"I-I actually can't remember anything... I didn't say anything weird, did I?"

"N-No! You just muttered into your pillow"

Both girls could heard that the other was being somewhat dishonest, but non of them knew what to make out of it.

While Max thought _God I hope I didn't tell her about the storm and her wish to die..._ The other girl could think of nothings else but the chance of her feelings being returned by the lovely hippie next to her _Should I tell her about my feelings? Now? No... It needs to be in a perfect situation, no half-assed_ _confession_ _._ her whole body trembled on that idea but she still couldn't shake off a strange uneasiness she felt since she had thought of the idea that Max may likes her, as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now :3 Thanks for reading my story so far
> 
> and as always if you saw any mistakes feel free to point them out ^^'


	5. Patience

The two girls were both still in Chloe's room, while Max sat on the bed, Chloe didn't even try to sit up and just lay in bed while sharing a doobie with her small friend.

"So whats up for today, Maximus?"

Chloe was hyped up. She wanted to make the smaller girl fall for her at all costs. All she needed was a romantic moment between her and Max. And she already had a plan in her mind that would create such a moment.

While Max was changing out of her PJ she checked her clothes. "I guess, I'll go to my dorm. I really need a shower-"

"Naaa, your a natural."

Ignoring the comment of the punk she continued "and some fresh clothes. But afterwards I'm open for pretty much everything."

"If its just a shower and clothes, I still got some stuff Rachel left here, if you want to you can try it on."

Max thought about the offer, but the déjà vu gave her a rather uncomfortable feeling, so she declined the offer with a shook of her head "Thanks for the offer, but I would rather... have some plain Caulfield gear right now. Maybe some other time."

Seeing the expression the brunette had while declining the offer, Chloe could guess what was hiding behind her friends answer and didn't want to ask any further.

"Okay, cool! Gonna meet you around half past two then? Need to prepare some stuff anyways."

"Prepare? What do you have in mind?"

 _She can't wait, as always._ Chloe thought while chuckling at her friends noisiness

"Ahh c'mon, I know that smile! I just want to know what you're getting me into again."

"Wouldn't be much of a surprise, if you knew that from the start, amiright?"

Max sighted, knowing that Chloe would not give in. Which made her more curious, than she was already. _A surprise huh... Why am I getting excited... But still, somehow feels like she wants to invites me to a date._

* * *

As the two girls made their way downstairs, to find a prepared breakfast with a note from Joyce who was already at the diner.

**Made you some waffles Max, I still remember that it was your favorite food for breakfast. Also made some eggs and bacon. Don't let my daughter eat everything by herself.**

"Love you too, Mum."

While Max giggled thanks to the note, her mouth was watering up at the smell of Joyce home made breakfast. "Joyce always had the right idea about breaky, why decide between waffle and bacon if you can have both!"

"Dude, even for someone like me your idea of a brekkie sounds... strange."

But Max didn't even listen anymore, already eyeing the food lying right before her, while sitting herself at the head of the table.

"I've got a feeling Joyce underestimated the hole, that legends call belly of- Hey, Maxine Caulfield don't you dare take my bacon!" Chloe said while sitting herself next to her friend.

The brunette didn't have anything to eat for about a day, yet she couldn't decide what was more important eating or answering, so she decided to do both... at the same time.

"Never *-chewing*gulp-* Maxine , my name is Max."

"Jeez, normally I would force the bacon out of you again, but unfortunately you're hella cute when you eat like a baby." Chloe said hoping to see a shy Hippie, but instead Max looked rather calmly at her while saying "I may be cute when I eat, but you don't even need to chew on something to be beautiful."

 _I can't just stay in the defense forever, I want the girl so I gotta make a move sooner or later. And hell, I don't want it to be 'later'. Fall for me Price!..._ Was what Max thought while complimenting the blue haired girl.

The blue haired girl was shocked by the words of her friend. She expected the brunette to be embarrassed by it not say something in return. Chloe didn't know what she should answer.

 _Did she just flirt with me? I can't just say nothing now... God, I must look like a dork. I like her uhm... style, eyes, hair, voice... c'mon girl something!_ "Ahmmm... Uhmmm..." But Chloe's mouth wouldn't move an inch, instead her cheeks did all the talking. They were burning up. Max amused glance didn't help the punk with that.

"Are you blushing? " Max couldn't help but snicker at the sight of the almighty Chloe Price blushing.

But then the atmosphere, which surrounded the two girls, slowly started to change. Max expression slowly changed from being amused to being softer and yet intense and focused at Chloe, without loosing her smile. Chloe in return couldn't take her eyes off of the smaller girl, yet she felt her blood rushing in her cheeks even more. But right now the blue haired punk didn't care about anything, but the spark inside the brunettes eyes, which felt like it was igniting her heart. The warmth slowly embraced the punk, making her numb to anything, even her mind wouldn't work anymore.

Max on the other hand was fascinated by Chloe's face. It was not like she didn't knew it, but yet the punk, without any make up, without a beanie and with messy hair stole her breath. She felt like she was being able to overcome anything fate threw at her, if she only had Chloe by her side, forever.

Just seeing her friends face wasn't enough anymore, Max wanted to feel... to taste it. Chloe's soft cheeks, her pink lips, Max wanted to feel them in a more intimate way. _But is it really okay? I think she likes me, but what if she doesn't and I just misread everything. I don't want to destroy our friendship._

But while Max hesitated, the blue haired girl slowly started, with growing desire, to close the distance between her and her smaller friend, without really noticing it. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her rib cage. Yet, it didn't feel uncomfortable at all. It was not an hammering, much more like dance her heart was performing at that moment. Her breath got faster and faster. Closer... Closer...

Bzz Bzz

Chloe flinched back as Max got a call on her phone. With a inner sighed the brunette looked at her handy to see that her Mother was calling. _Oh shit, I didn't answered anything from my parents the whole week!_

Now that the atmosphere was gone anyways, Max wanted to pick up the call "Che, its my mother... just give me a sec"

"Y-yeah sure" Chloe stuttered _Holy fuck, I was about to jump my best friend and eat her up... just because our eyes met for a little longer than normal. I don't know what that just was but it felt amazeballs. What would have happened if her mother didn't call..._ A small grin formed on the blue haired girl as she imagined the most likely outcome.

"Hey Mom... I know... I'm sorry... Had a lot to do the past few days... No its really fine now... I know that you're proud... yeah... I'm at Chloe's right now... Yes we're friends again..." While talking to her mother Max started feeling hungry again and licked the syrups, she used for the waffles, of her spoon.

_Vanessa... Urgh I don't even want to imagine how much she would freak if she knew that I nearly tried to make out with her little girl. She was always a bit protective. A bit to much if you ask me. But would it really be alright for me and Max to be... more than friends? I don't want to create any drama between her and her parents or friends..._

Chloe glimpsed at the girl next to her who was still playing with a spoon in her mouth. This was the first time the punk was envious of a spoon. _Fuck, not like I can turn my feelings off, can I? And if I'm not a total idiot Max feels the same way. I just need to have a perfect moment with just her and me, I don't want a boring 'hey I like you' , that's not what a girl like her deserves. I want to blow her mind so that neither she nor I'll ever forget it!_

* * *

After Max got driven back to Blackwell by Chloe, she didn't want to waste any time and went straight to the girls dorm. It was about 12:00 and most pupil had a break, so there were more people than Max expected. But after the last few days with Chloe she had gathered enough courage to approach people again. She wanted to see how her friends were doing and didn't even need to search for Warren as he was standing in the grass before the Dorm, talking with Brooke.

Max knew that Brooke was interested in Warren, and she didn't want to interrupt their conversation, but before she could do anything Warren already spotted her and waved her over.

"Hey Max!" While Warren made her way to her, Max could see that Brooke was more than just disappointed. Jealous. _Great, now Brooke'll hate my guts, its not like I intentionally want Warrens attention..._ Max thought.

"Sup, Warren? Did I miss anything important?"

"Naaa, robots took over the world and our space-time continuum broke apart. Ah and there was also a girl who revealed the true face of a psycho-teacher. I can understand that you needed some time for yourself, but still you're amazing." Max knew she wouldn't be able to dodge that topic forever.

"Trust me, it sounds more exciting than it actually was. And I can rather deal with skynet ruling all of mankind than Mrs. Grunts chemistry classes."

"No need to worry, Dr. Graham is here to help you out!"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about our study club... I just reunited with my best friend, and she offered to help me. Me and her need to catch up a lot of time together."

"S-sure, that's fine. I mean... if its what you want." The Boy was obviously hurt by Max cancellation, but Brooke on the other hand showed now a much more relaxed expression.

"Ah, before I forget it, I took my usb back, Dana had it. I should tell you that she wants to talk about something." _Dana was always kind even to unpopular folks like me and Kate, I should at least try to do the same and talk to her. But before I do anything else I really want a shower and some fresh clothes._

Max took her leave, which obviously pleased Brook. _You could at least try to hide it..._

She was actually surprisingly happy to be back at Blackwell. Seeing a lot of people like Dana Kate or Warren felt good. No weird weather. No Psycho. Just them in school. Life not being strange, at least for now. But then she reminded herself of her current situation. _I left Chloe alone... it'll just be for 1-2 hours but still.. maybe I should have stayed with her. Just to make sure she is okay. Tomorrow is Friday. The last day. I still got the photo. I could always try to go back in time again. No. I have to make Chloe happy. This Chloe. Tomorrow I'llconfess to her. Its obvious that she has more than just friendship in mind. I've seen how you watched me while I changed, Price. Not that I mind. I'll confess and she'll have more than enough reason to not loose her will to live again._ Max tried to convince herself that it was the right thing to do. But she still felt the same fear she always felt when she needed to make a decision.

* * *

It was about 13:40 when Chloe arrived at Blackwell. She had a short talk with some folks who still knew her, before heading to the girls dorm. She didn't knew exactly where Max room was, but before she could worry about that she had already sighted her friend. Talking with a girl. Lots of make up. Brown-reddish hair. Rather daring cleavage. The girl talking to Max could be considered sexy. Chloe's guts started twisting again. _This is Kate? Didn't she say that she was shy?! That's not what I call shy at all..._ Chloe felt like an idiot standing in the hallway, but somehow her legs were getting a bit wobbly.

Max turned around and saw her friend just standing in the corridor. "Che? Aren't you a bit early?" Max called out to her.

Chloe needed a moment before she could find her voice again. "Y-Yeah, I got my stuff faster than I thought, am I interrupting anything?"

"No, not really. Just got out of the shower anyways. That's Dana by the way. Dana Chloe, Childhood friend, punk, and occasionally a dork."

"Hey there. So you're the rumored Chloe, Max told me a lot about you." She said with a smile on her face.

"Only good things, I assume?"

"If there were any." Max answered sassy, which made Dana chuckle.

"Yeah, you two are definitely close. Max is never that cocky around other." That remark made both girls blush a bit, which didn't go unnoticed by Dana, but before she could say anything another person interrupted them.

"Dana, are you picking at others, again?" Kate joined the conversation while extending her hand to Chloe "Hey, my name is Kate, you must be Chloe, right?"

Chloe nearly said 'That's what you call pretty?' Before realising how incredibly rude it would have been. Looking at Kate a bit closer now, Chloe saw that she was not ugly in any regards, it would just have been unfair to compare someone normal to a girl like Dana, who was obviously spending more time than anybody else in this round with her looks.

While shaking Kate's hand the punk said "I certainly hope so." _So it was Kate Marsh after all._

"Nice meeting you but now if you two excuse me, I think I'll have to kidnap Dana from you, we still have a homework to do together." Kate took Dana's hand and pulled her away, while giving Max a secret wink that suggested that she didn't want to disturb whatever Chloe came here for. _Kate you're an angel_

"Sooo, they seem nice."

"Yep, not all students're rich doucheys."

"But still more than enough to make living her a pain sometimes, amiright?

"Sometimes is an understatement." And with a long sight she added "c'mon lets go to my room."

"Hell yes! Room tour!" The punk said while throwing her hands into the air.

As the two girls entered Chloe was impressed by her little friends decoration. "Not bad Maximus, it really screams 'I'm a hipster' . It fits you."

"Thanks... I guess? Make yourself comfortable at... the couch." Max tried to say while her blue haired friend was already throwing herself at the bed.

"Its so soft! And... oh. my. god. You still got your teddy?!" Chloe bursted out laughing at the sight of the one eyed teddy.

"H-HEY, Don't you dare laugh at Iggy! When we were kids you always wanted to sleep with him, not me!" But Chloe didn't stop laughing. Max blushing didn't help with that.

"Yeah... I know, it was always me you and the one eyed "Iggy" a full crew of pirates." after a short silence the punk suddenly narrowed her eyes. "When we were kids, I can't believe you still have him. "

"S-Stop laughing! I'm not the only one who has kept memorys of our childhood, am I?" Max knew if her friend would know that she still loved to cuddle him sometimes she would never hear anything else from Chloe again but some mean jokes.

"Ohhh, did I hurt your feelings?"

"Oh, I'm gonna hurt you if you don't stop, you can be sure of that!"

"Sassy! I like that. Try me Caulfield." The blue haired girl said with a cheeky smile on her face, while still lying on her friends bed.

As an answer Max wanted to whip her friend with her wet towel. But where was it? _Ah shit I forgot it._

"Don't you dare run away Price, I just forgot some stuff in the shower, be right back" Max said while going out of her room again.

* * *

While Max went outside, Chloe inspected the room a bit more, when she noticed a book looking out of Max's bag. A journal. _Max still writes diary? Should I take a look at her dirty little secrets?_ The punk thought while grabbing the diary.

 _No... No I should definetly not. What if she wrote something about what she has been trough. I told her I would wait till she was ready to talk about things, if I read something now she would probably be mad at me._ While shaking her head at her stupidity, she wanted to lay the book back were it belongs, when a photo fell out of the diary, right in front of Chloe.

* * *

As Max closed her door, she could already hear a familiar voice coming from the bathroom.

With a inner groan she went inside, just to see Victoria Chase applying some, probably very expensive, make up when she noticed the brunette coming in.

"Oh look who have we here? Miss 'I'm better than everyone else' " Max didn't even look at her and just grabbed her stuff.

"I heard that a blue haired punkster has joined your little party of weirdos. Are you playing Rachel now? Isn't hero of Blackwell enough? " _Are you playing Rachel now?_ That sentence hurt. More than Max expected. No she didn't. Never could. While she brought ruin over her best friend, Rachel saved her from it.

She slowly turned around, tears in her eyes. "Are you done Victoria? Why do you want to hurt me?..."

Victoria was startled by the brunettes reaction. Max had never shown something like vulnerability towards her. Max was not angry, she was actually sad. Sad because of her words.

Victoria herself was not sure if she was feeling guilty right now, but before she could do anything the small girl was already gone.

* * *

Max opened the door to her room again just to find a wincing punk. _What was going on? Did she plan to do anything while I was gone?_ Max thought.

"Hey, Maximus is everything alright? You don't look to good." _She doesn't seem to be up to something._

_And with a big sight she explained what just happened at the bathroom._

_"Urgh, I never could stand any of the Vortex suckers."_

_"Am I... trying to be like Rachel?"_ The small girl still couldn't shack off what Victoria just said to her, but was swiftly calmed by her friends laughing.

"I'm hella happy you aren't! I don't want another Rachel, I want Maxine fucking Caulfield." Chloe said with a big smile on her face.

Those words brought yet again tears to Max's eyes. Only this time they were tears of joy. She wanted to hug Chloe. She wanted to kiss Chloe. But she would wait till tomorrow. _Tomorrow, I'll make sure that you'll definitely fall for me Price!_

While Max was thinking about her own planes to confess, she didn't notice her diary being not at the exact same location it was before she left the room. Nor did she notice that a photo was missing, in fact it was in the leather jacket of her blue haired friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for now ^^
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys the chapters even if they're a bit shorter now :P
> 
> And as always if you see any grammar mistakes, or have something to criticise in general, please tell me! I'm always up to improvement :3


	6. Shut up

Chloe was acting weird, but Max couldn't make out what it was.

The two girls were still sitting in Max room, talking about some silly adventures they went on as kids. Max was enjoying the time, but something was missing. Chloe didn't do her casual teasing. She was holding back something. Evading the brunettes glances all the time. Sitting next to her on the couch, not close to her on the bed.

_Wasn't I the one who's hiding? Why would she act like that, now? C'mon Price, I know you probably better than you do yourself, do you really thing I won't notice if something is off? Max thought while looking at her friend rather suspicious._

"... And then you totally ran away!" Chloe finished her story while chuckling a bit, when she noticed that her small friend stopped paying attention. "Everything alright, Maximus?" With a rather nervous voice.

 _That's what I mean! Normal Chloe would at least pick at me for not listening while she tells a story._ Max couldn't just be quiet and enjoy their time together.

"Actually I wanted to ask you the same thing... Che, did something upset you?"

"What? No! From where did that come from? We were having fun until now, weren't we? What the hell would I be upset?" But Chloe, not being stupid, knew already what Max was talking about. She was acting different. While her mouth couldn't bring out anything else, her mind was working, trying to find anything to say.

_If I just would not have seen this damn photo... What do you expect of me, Caulfield, until now I didn't even think about-_

"Then why're you avoiding my gaze the whole time. You... No, sorry. Stupid old me, can't even trust her best friend anymore." Max said with a rather sad laugh.

Seeing the freckled girl like that, hurt the blue haired girl more than she expected. Was it because she loved Max so much, or because she was feeling guilty? Maybe a mix of both.

_You've never been stupid, Max. You're fucking accurate as always... How could I not fall for you? It seems like you're the only person on this fucking planet who understands me. Not just what I say, but what I actually try to hide as well. You've always seen the real me, haven't you?... Gosh, it feels awful seeing you mistrusting me like that..._ _especially if I give you a reason for it._

Then suddenly a picture of a note popped into the punks head. 'I WANT TO DIE'. Chloe knew, why and when she wrote it. But how must it have been like for her small friend to see it... A shiver of fear ran down her spine, while imagining their roles switched. If Chloe had found out that Max at some point wanted to kill herself, her spirit would have been shattered into small pieces.

_Look at fucking me, getting hella worked up over nothing again. Why can't I just enjoy being with this wonderful girl... I need to cool down, this won't end well if I stay here._

But, of course, Max noticed that something was going on inside of the punks head.  
 _ _Calm down, Max! She doesn't have to be upfront to you with everything. Maybe it awoke some bad memory's for her to come back to Blackwell. Can't blame her. I'm such a dork. We had such a good time until now._ _ Max felt like punching herself.

Then Chloe suddenly stood up. "I'm such an idiot! I totally forgot to buy something for Joyce! Max, will see you later, promise!"

"Hmm, Will be boring here without you..." The brunette saw through that obvious lie, but didn't want to pressure the punk more than she already did and tried to give a reasuring smile to show the punk that she was not trying to pressure her into anything.

"You should get used to being back at Blackwell again. Get used to school life again. As much as I would love to, we can't have your non-stop-sleepovers. And sorry for leaving you like that!" The punk said while moving closer to the door.

"No sleepovers? Who're you, and what did you do to my Chloe Price?" the brunette answered with a smirk on her face, but still... Max didn't like the idea of leaving Chloe, one day before the storm would probably bring death to everything in this town. In fact she hated the idea. But what could she possibly say that would convince her friend, while not telling her in what kind of dilemma Max was in right now.

"Will see you tonight then? You still wanted to show me something didn't you?" Max question was answered with a nod of her blue haired friend.

"Will give you a call before I come pick you up. Later!" With that said she closed the door behind her.

_And there she goes... Wasn't today the Vortex party? I wonder if its still going to happen, with all the shit regarding him. If it does I could ask her out. Nope Maxine you're way to shy for that, and you know that._

But the small girl couldn't really calm down without knowing what her blue haired other half was doing. _Today is_ _Thursday. Last time he... shot Chloe, this can't happen this time. There is no real reason why she could die. Well she could have a car accident, or some other random shit... No, not random. It never was.  
_ _B_ _ut_ _I can't keep her on a short leash... As much as I would love to._ _At some point she would notice something was off._  
God, I could use some more of Chloe's pot right now.

* * *

Chloe was sitting in what-was left-of-it-truck, as she liked to refer to it, in the parking loot of Blackwell, and was thinking about the photo. Chloe knew at least one thing about herself, she was super jealous of pretty much everything close to Max. The brunette just needed to mention someone else and the punk would already feel like someone punched her right in the guts. And that would probably never change unless the cute little freckle face belonged to her, and her alone.  
But this? This was some next level shit, not even the blue haired girl was fully understanding herself.

Nobody was near the truck, so she pulled the photo out, without needing to fear being caught by her small friend.  
Looking again at it made an even bigger mess out of her feelings than they already were.

 _Its just Max and me chilling on my bed... looks like I photobombed one of her selfies..._ The punk thought while smiling. That sounded so much like them.  
 _So Max really traveled in time... not like I doubted her really, but having proof of it shows how fucked up this whole situation really is. And she came back to save me. Now its up to me to help her with all those fucked up memories, but how can I understand her? I mean she had fucking super powers... now she literally is Super-Max.  
_ Chloe sighted and already felt a slight headache while rubbing her temples.

Then a sceptical voice started nagging again in the punks head. _Look at Max. She is happy. You said it yourself you'll never understand her. The only one who can is the one who looks like you in the photo. She doesn't need you, she needs her! Do you really think she loves you? You're a_ _substitute._

_But Is it really important WHY she likes me? She does. I think. At least I hella do! Maybe I should be thankful for the other me, that she made Max fall for me..._

_Fuck, I don't want that. I want Max to love me, because of me... Even if the girl in the photo is me_ "Ahhhhhhhh" the punk groaned loudly inside of her car.

Chloe hated this mix of thankfulness and jealousy she had for the other her. Her headache got stronger and she started massaging her face with her hands.

_Geez, I need some good pot right now. I'm beginning to grasp why Max is sometimes so fragile. All this shit with other time-lines is hella not healthy for your mind._

* * *

It was already 8 p.m. and the brunette was still waiting for a call from Chloe. For a while she hang with Dana and Kate, mostly to know if she missed anything important over the days she was absent. But now she was just bored, so she decided to write the blue haired punk.

 **Max :** So Miss Surprice, will you let me wait any longer?

 **Chloe :** on my way

 **Max :** Thats what I want to hear ;) And no writing while driving!

 **Chloe :** Yes, yes Mammy Caulfield.

 **Chloe :** no emoji.

While chuckling at her friends catchphrase, she made herself ready for whatever Chloe had in mind for tonight. Also she was quiet relieved to see the punk soon.  
 _Her sms sounded like she was feeling better. It probably was nothing after all, just me being nervous._ Max thought while deciding to wear a green hoodie jacket and a baby blue top.

Fifteen minutes later the blue haired girl gave Max a call that she should come to the parking lot.

As Max arrived she saw the punk sitting on the bonnet, smoking a cigaret and waving at her with a warm smile. Wearing her jet black leather jacket and a grey t-shirt underneath it and of course the most crucial thing for a Chloe Price, a beanie covering her beautiful blue hair.  
Max feelings went wild whenever she saw the girl. She could get lost in the black-blue contrast of her hair and her beanie. But before could fall into an awkward silent starring she quickly said "Hey there. So will the nosy me wait longer than I already have to know what we're doing tonight?"

"Nope! Today would have been one of those vortex-partys at school but thanks to the whole mess with Jefferfuck it got canceled. But you know the vortex club, with their huge ass budget they got themself another place to party somewhere, that means pretty much no one is sleeping here today and I thought we could-" Chloe pulled out a bunch of keys. Max instantly recognised those keys.

"You want to go... splish splash?"

"How did you... Oh don't tell me we already did that!" The punk made a sulky face. _Great... Now the other-me even steals ideas from me... or well doesn't, because its me... Fuck, I really wanted to surprise her with that._ Chloe thought while being yet again jealous at the other 'her'...

"Hey, we can still go, it'll be funny!" Max tried to cheer the bigger girl up, but realized that this was not the right way to do it. Then she suddenly had another idea.

"Did you got keys for the whole school?"

"Yes... better safe than sorry, right?"

"Blackwell is huge, it doesn't just have a pool, we could do other stuff." The brunette said while pointing at the top of the main building of Blackwell.

"I guess, you have something special in mind?" Chloe asked.

"Maybe." The brunette answered with a wink.

"Hmm, I can already see a plan forming in your head. I'm such a bad influence for you."

While that comment made Max snicker a bit she asked "But isn't it a bit to early anyways? We should probably wait until the party started, so we have less people we need to watch out for."

"No need to worry Maximus, I'm already way ahead of you, soooo I prepared a little picnic for us." the punk said while opening the door on the driver's site and waving Max to come inside the car as well.

The old truck had the Chloe-smell everywhere. A mix of Cigarets and blueberry shampoo.  
As Chloe started the engine she turned on the radio.  
'Rivers and Roads' by The Head and the Heart was playing, which felts weirdly accurate. While tapping with a finger on her leg to the rhythm she asked  
"So where are we having our little picnic?"

"Knowing you, I expected that question a lot sooner, something distracting you?" Chloe asked slyly. _  
Of course 'something' or better 'someone' is distracting me, don't act like you don't know that._ The brunette thought while saying "That does not answer my question, Price."

"Well, we're headed to one of our favored spots of the bay... at least when we were kids. I actually was there quiet a lot, after you left for Seattle." The punk said, without any intention of guilt tripping the girl next to her.

Knowing that, Max looked out of the window and tried to orientate herself.  
 _Wait a second, I know this part of the woods, don't tell me our little hideout is still intact_ Max was absolutely stunned as she turned her head back to her driving friend, who had a big smile on her face knowing that at least this idea surprised the brunette.

About 20 minutes later, Chloe slowed the car down and explained "I can't drive much further, the road actually vanishes in about 5 minutes, we have to walk the rest of the way, that's okay for you?"

"Sounds great! I wasn't in this part of the forest for a long time!"

Chloe parked the car on the site, and the both of them made their way out of the car. While the punk took a bag out of the truck, Max stepped outside and took a deep breath. It was a smell full of nostalgia. She looked around and recognised some parts of the forest, yet a lot other parts were overgrown with plants, and some old trees weren't standing anymore, naturally fallen down, lying in the dirt, while new life grew out of them. And amid all of this was a blue haired punk. Max couldn't hide a small smile while thinking  
 _This forest... It somehow feels like the forest is just like us... Che and me changed so much in those years in which we were apart, yet she is still Chloe Price and I'm still Max Caulfield. Even if I don't wear a ponytail anymore, even if she has now blue hair... even if we both were hurt and lost so much. Deep down we're still the like this forest. Different and yet still the same as we were 5 years ago.  
Gee, I love this girl so much that I'm becoming a poet._

The small girls thoughts where interrupted, when the blue haired girl suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her with her in the woods. It shouldn't be anything special, just best friends holding hands, but Max still felt how her blood started to rush into her cheeks. Chloe's hand emitted a comforting warmth, which the brunette didn't want to let go off.  
Most of the time, Max focused to not stumble over any roots or branches, and before she noticed it they could already see the small wooden cabin. Now some kind of moss was growing over the roof, which gave the cabin a mysterious old look. Finally standing right before it the punk let Max hand go to open the door.

The inside of the hut was surprisingly clean, although not much was in it. Two chairs for kids, which were now way to small even for Max, a small table and a blanket which covered most of the floor. The blanket made a pretty new impression to Max.  
 _Chloe must have gotten it while I was in Blackwell._

"I can still remember how often we were here. Aside from your and our house this was like a new home for me... Its good to be back." The brunette let out a sight of happiness.

"Isn't it? We always planned to have a sleepover here, but we were always way to scared of the forest at night." The punk started to giggle, which made Max laugh as well.

As the two girls sat down on the blanket, the blue haired girl showed the content of her bag. Some donuts and two coffees. Max couldn't contain a giggle  
 _And I was expecting a candlelight dinner_ "Those're from two Whales aren't they?"

"Well... fuck, I didn't have any money to get us something good, so I asked my Mom if she had anything..." The punk admitted while being embarrassed about her financial condition.

"What do you mean? Two whales always had the best donuts!" Max said while grabbing the first one. "And the coffee is great, will keep us awake for our ninja mission later on." She added with a wink. _You really think I care about what you give me to eat? Sitting here with you, I could eat rocks and be happy..._

The two girls, while starting to eat their food, both had a lot of memories boiling up sitting here like this. As the sun slowly went down, and it got a bit colder, the two of them took the blanket and cuddled together shoulder to shoulder. Holding each other warm. Max slowly lay her head on the bigger girls shoulder, and hoped it won't bring awkwardness with it.  
For a while they just listened to the sounds outside in the woods. Some birds sang. Somewhere, an animal stepped on a stick. The trees rustled in the wind. This was a moment of bliss for the two of them. Being outside of the world that always tried to take from them... to hurt them. Being free of every kind of anxiety.  
Max felt that this may be a good oppertunity for her to tell her friend that she loved her more than anything in this world, but then she reminded herself that she would need to wait at least one more day. The risk of the storm destroying everything was still there... But she also wouldn't complain if the punk next to her tried anything.

Chloe had similar things in mind. This was a perfect moment to confess her feelings... her love... her desire for Max.  
But before she did say anything, the photo popped into her mind.  
 _Is she happy that I'm here, or am I just the substitute for the other Chloe... What would it have been like, if she didn't had those time travel powers. Would she even love me?_  
She had this week full of adventures with the other me, I will never have. The memories she probably cherishes the most are not with 'me-me' but 'her-me'...  
I can't even blame her, or anyone at all, for this...

"I think I heard something." Max voice blew the punk back into reality.

"Huh?" But before she could ask anything, the freckled girl was already standing on her feet again and walking outside. __  
There goes my chance... Why can't I just shut up and kiss this girl already? Do I not trust her? Substitute? What the hell am I even thinking. This is Max I'm talking about. The most shy yet kind girl I've ever known, like hell would she do anything that would hurt me... But would she even know why she feels like she does? Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.  
No. This is not about Max. This is about me. I was never good at expressing my feelings, but after Dad... and Rachel... it feels like I will never be able to trust someone again.  
I'm scared.

Suddenly the small girl peeked back inside of the cabin, her face showing a bright smile, which flustered the punk.

"C'mon you need to see this!" Max whispered.

"W-what is going on?" The blue haired girl asked, while slowly seeing that a family of foxes had their burrow right under their cabin. "We got neighbors!"

"Foxes in October?" The punk was no biologist but she always thought that they got their kids around spring.

"Some fawns don't want to leave their parents, at some point the family will abandon them thought." As Max answered Chloes question, the punk felt oddly connected to the young foxes.

"You don't want to let go of your parents ehh? I never could either let go..."

The small girl was shaken by what she just heard. She didn't mean anything by what she said, and yet managed to bring back a painful memory.

"I... I'm sorry that was so uncool of m-" But a sight of blue haired girl interrupted her.

"I hella know that, Dude. C'mon lets go back to the truck its late enough, for our stealthy ninja plan." She said, her voice already a bit more cheery than before. Still she was pouting a bit at herself feeling that she missed her best chance to make a move on the cute freckled girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> I know it feels like teasing, but I really want to show you how insecure those two are. I think its fairly obvious that the two of them don't just have problems, they're literally traumatized. The point I try to make is that for them (at least in my story) they're very important to each other, but that does not make it any easy to date, they can't just be together and YAY everything is happy easy peasy. From what I've seen most people start dating BEFORE they really fall for each other but those two love each other already, which doesn't make it any easier to be honest to one another. It pretty much adds to the anxiety they already have.
> 
> It could also feel like their inner dialogues are sometimes random, or jump from topic to topic. That is actually my intention.  
> Just listen to your thoughts for a moment, it would be pretty hard for anyone else to understand them, right? ^^
> 
> Just wanted you guys to have an insight of what I have in mind while writing those character :p
> 
> Also I have a lot to do for the next 2-3 weeks (final exams.) so I won't have much time to write at all. Will try to update when I can but can't make promises :S
> 
> And as always, if you have anything to criticize, or saw any grammar mistakes feel free to let me know! :3


	7. Nighttime

Blackwell at night.  
Max felt shivers run down her spine. The school at night, even if it was the same building, had a completely different atmosphere. An ominous one. But Max wasn't sure if what she was feeling was because of her past memories or because of too many horror-flicks. Before the week that never existed, she never had a fear of the dark, but now she felt vulnerable when she was in a place without a lot of light, and it got worse the less people were around. But still her companion was moving ahead to the main entrance, while carrying the bag from before, and not paying a lot of attention to Max or her surrounding.

"Chlo, you need to be more careful or we'll get caught!" Max whispered as she caught up to the punk.

"And you need to chillax Max. We're not doing anything illegal. Yet. Just two girls slandering over the campus at night. And today is the Vortex party so there aren't a lot of security asses around, and if someone really should find us we can just tell them that we came from the party." While pulling out a bunch of keys she added with a cheeky grin "Now we're doing something illegal."

The brunette could only sigh at her friend, who didn't take this seriously at all.  
 _But do I need to be surprised? Last time she was acting like nobody could catch us as well... Just that there is no last time.  
I shouldn't bring that up any further, she wanted to surprise me with going into the school at night, I don't want to be a buzzkill. _Max thought while looking at the blue haired girl who tried one key after another to open the entrance. Then the door swung open and the stupidly grinning punk made a hand gesture suggesting that she wanted make Max go first inside.

"Like hell I'll go first. The ones who go first always die in horror-flicks."

"Boohoo little Max is scared." Chloe teased while swiftly entering the dark corridor.  
Before Max realised it the blue haired girl was already out of her field of view.  
Max started to feel a bit strained. First it was nothing at all, just a bad feeling in her stomach. But after following Chloe inside and not seeing or hearing her at all, the feeling got stronger. She felt sweat breaking out over her whole body. Her hands cramped together, and her breathing got faster.

She peeked around the first corner. Where was Chloe. The freckled girl felt her knees getting weaker and weaker. Now adrenaline started to rush into her brain. Max didn't recognize the hallway anymore. Was this Blackwell she was in? It felt like the shadows all around her started creeping towards her. Next she felt hands touching her shoulders from behind.

Max turned around and was shattered at the sight of Mark Jefferson, who was grabbing her. Max tried to scream but nothing would come out of her mouth. She felt her knees finally give in. As she fell on the floor she heard him say.

"BOOyah ! Get it? Cuz I'm a scary...punk... Max?" The image of her former teacher vanished and a blue haired punk was standing right before Max.  
Chloe didn't immediately realize what was going on but as she saw tears of fear running down Max cheeks, she quickly embraced the brunette who was on her knees.  
While doing circular motions on Max back with one of her hands she said "I'm so sorry. Hella stupid. Didn't think. I'm here, just me." She entangled her other hand with the smaller girl's own hand.

The brunette tried to not loose what was left of her composure, and hearing her friend's voice and feeling her hug helped greatly with that. The darkness all around her was cold but it Chloe was the a source of warmth, so Max snuggled herself even more into the bigger girl. After a while the punk asked "Are you okay? That was so inconsiderate of me. I'm hella sorry..." But Max could hear not just regret in her blue haired friends voice, but also a small amount of fear. _Please don't hate me now, Max. I'm such an idiot..._

"Chlo... How should you know that I'm scared of the dark, when I never told you."

"... I guess I wouldn't know, but still, if I had thought more about you... your situation, I could have guessed that scaring you in a dark place is a bad idea..."

With a sigh the the freckled girl stood up again and said "You're forgiven Price, but you've gotta make this a funny night for me to remember. Orders from the Captain."

Her joke created a faint smile on the punks face. When both of them were an their feet again, still holding each other hand's, they started to move again.  
Max, while knowing again where they were, didn't know what they were doing in this part of Blackwell. The only rooms here were classrooms for subjects like physics.

"Do you have anything in mind, dragging me this way, Che? Or are we just roaming the wild lands of Blackwell with no actual goal?"

"Naaa, I've got something in mind. Today is a pretty clear sky over the bay, so why not borrow some telescopes from the physic rooms and move them to the roof?"

"Interesting, but I hope you know that they cost a fortune, so if we get caught-"

"That's why I said we 'borrow' them. Not stealing, and of course no breaking."

Getting a telescope was surprisingly easy. Chloe just had to use her wonder-key-ring again to open the door to the physics room. A telescope was already standing near of the windows, completely constructed. The two girls grabbed it, and slowly made their way to the top. As they dragged the telescope upstairs, Max got a bit excited, as she had never seen through one of those things nor had she ever gotten up to the the small roof. But she still missed her friends hand holding her own. As corny as it may sound, it always created butterflies in her stomach: holding the blue haired girl's hand. When they opened the door they saw a beautiful sky, with hundreds of stars and a big blue moon emitting a gentle shine over the whole roof.  
While Chloe tried to figure out how a telescope works, Max was relieved at the sight of the sky above them.  
 _Just one moon. I still don't know how you'd explain two moons. An illusion maybe?... Not like I really care. Just one moon. That's more than enough._ As she turned back to see what the other girl was doing, she immediately got the urge to take a photo of Chloe under the night sky but noticed that she had forgotten her camera. _I forgot my Polaroid? Wowser, I really am a mess right now, aren't I?..._

"That should pretty much do it. Wanna take a look?" The punk offered her.

"Sure." As Max peeped in the telescope the view took her breath for a moment.

"That's amazing. You can even see some of the lunar craters! You've gotta try it out yourself, Che."

"And I thought you hated everything regarding sciences. Looks like you'll never cease to surprise me ."

"Hey, the night sky was always a special motive for most artists, its not just fascinating because you can calculate some weird angles."

Chloe couldn't hold a grin back at her friends comment, yet she only shook her head and took a peek through the telescope herself. She needed to orient herself, because for a brief moment everything she saw was darkness, but after a short while she found the stars and the moon and was intrigued by them. As she explored the sky a bit more she suddenly saw a gigantic eyeball staring at her.  
Startled, she moved her head back and saw a freckled girl with a sassy grin on her face.  
Chloe released an amused sigh and sat herself down, still being a bit exhausted from carrying the whole telescope, while leaning against the bars, which were surrounding the roof, she took a joint out of her jacket.  
As Max made herself comfortable next to her blue haired friend, noticed that she was being watched.

"Something on my face?"

"Sassy Max is sassy. Sounds like you need this more than me." The punk said while passing her doobie to her small friend, who took a bigger drag than even she herself expected to.

"Looks like I need to be more careful who to give my stuff from now on, Bob Maxley." Chloe added with smile.

"That's just because of your bad influence over me. I mean look at me, breaking into a school, smoking marijuana."

"Did you just say Marijuana? We really need to work on your street slang, you sound like step prick. No offense."

"Well, but I sure as heck am offended. Nobody jokes about my slang !"

The punk couldn't stop herself from giggling a bit.  
"That was hecka hardcore, Max. Count me impressed." And while turning her gaze at Max again she continued to say "But apropos hardcore, I just thought of it but did you ever think about dyeing your hair?"

"Noooo...?"

"Ahhh, why not? You would look amazing with some colored strands." Chloe said while softly taking some of Max's hair in her hand.

Max didn't knew if it was because of the grass or because of the physical contact with her crush but somehow that idea suddenly didn't sound bad anymore, Max even thought it could be funny to dye her hair. After all she did want to change when she first came to Blackwell, so why not do it now.

"Maybe something reddish?"

"Wait, You're kidding right?"

"As long as we just dye a bit of my bangs. Even if I don't like it its not gonna stay forever, like a tattoo or a piercing." While saying that she saw the fire spark in the bluenette's eyes.  
 _Oh god, nope Che. I would never be able to survive my parents if I get myself a tattoo. Mom would probably freak when she knew I'm considering to dye my hair, not to imagine what she would do if I'm having a tattoo the next time we see each other._

"They don't hurt as much as everybody tries to tell you, I swear."

Max sighed. _Here we go._ "I'm not going to get a tattoo for now, it would take some time to think about all that. And also you know my parents, they would never let me step outside again! I'm still something like their baby girl." She tried to justify something against the thrill of anticipation the punk had, while giving her the cigarette back.

"Fair enough. We don't want to rush things do we? But you will get your hair dyed. There is no escape from that anymore, Maximus." Chloe said while a smile was hidden in the smoke she just exhaled.  
 _Rush things? Is she cereal? She really doesn't let go of an idea once its in her head, does she?_

"Well, yea... like I said, maybe something reddish for my bangs."

"You're going to look amazeballs!" The punk exclaimed while giving the joint back to Max who didn't know if it was a good sign that Chloe was so hyped up. But before she could say anything to calm the girl next to her, she saw a small house from the corner of her eye a small house. A greenhouse, and with that an idea popped into the brunette's mind.

"Hey, Che, before you die of excitement why don't we head there?" She suggested while pointing at the greenhouse with the joint in her hand.

"What do you want in a greenhouse? Don't tell me looking at plants is the most exciting thing you could come up with." Chloe said, teasing the small girl.

"You can't say that it is boring before you didn't try it, can you?"

"Okay, okay. The night is still young anyways. We should probably bring the telescope back first thought."

"Whoa. Chloe having reasonable ideas. Today is really special." That sassy comment earned Max a soft punch against the shoulder. Which she kinda deserved.

The two girls made their way towards the greenhouse, after bringing the telescope back to the classroom. After they heard one of the guards talking in his phone on the stairs,  
both of them were a bit more cautious about the security guards. But they still reached it without any problems. The greenhouse also wasn't locked, so that Chloe didn't have to try every single key.  
The door swung open and the two girls peeked inside. It was surprisingly dark inside, which made Max a bit nervous again, but both of them agreed that a light switch would expose them too much. And being near the blue haired punk always calmed Max so that even a darker place wouldn't scare her as much as it usually would.  
And it wasn't like they couldn't see anything either, the moon shined very strong tonight so that the greenhouse was illuminated in a blueish light. As the punk went inside first she didn't think that the plants all over the place were ugly or something like that. In fact she found them interesting. Still, she thought that being here would bore them sooner or later so she asked  
"Sooo, what did we come here for?" While turning back to her small friend who was now standing next to a table full of plants she didn't know.

"Chlo, you really scared me back in the hallway. To tell you the truth I still feel a bit anxious."

"Wha... I said already that it was stupid of me..." Chloe didn't know what to make of what Max just said. W _hat does she want from me ? Is that supposed to piss me off ? Of course I know that it was wrong of me, I even admitted it, right after I scared her._ Chloe got a bit angry after thinking more about it.

"Do you really want to guilt trip me on that?"

"And, you also couldn't stop teasing me half the day."

"Okay, Max, what do you want from me, right now?"

"Geez, I think I have to cool you down, Che."

"Wha-" But than a jet of water hit her face. She realised to late that the small brunette had secretly moved herself to a garden hose that the people normally use to water the plants inside the greenhouse.

"urchhh, stop it already. Look at me, I'm completely drenched !"

"Are you? I think there're still a few spots that're quite dry... like THERE" And another jet of water reached the blue haired girl.

"You cunt."

"I warned you didn't I? Nobody jokes about my street slang." And another gush of water hit her friend, who now stopped just standing there like her feet were rooted and went into the offensive. With a battle cry she tackled the smaller girl who, with a small scream, let go of the garden hose. Chloe, lying on Max, took full control now. She grabbed the garden hose lying next to her and shoveled it into her friends t-shirt while water was still running out of it. While being drenched already, the brunette tried to pull it out of her shirt, but the punk wouldn't let her do as she pleased. While pulling the garden hose out of her friends shirt, Chloe tried to splash some more water in Max face, but the brunette got hold of Chloe's fist and they started to fight about who would get the garden hose.  
But than they heard a noise which let both of them freeze for a few seconds.

"Fuck, we were hella noisy right now." The blue haired girl whispered while moving down from the other girl. Now they also saw a flashlight being directed in on the greenhouse.

"Come here, behind the pots." Max said, and both girls swiftly sneaked behind a small wall of pots, but not before turning the garden hose off again. The ray of light was now moving through the whole conservatory, but didn't stop while passing by the hideout of the two drenched girls. After a few moments they heard footsteps moving away from their location which relieved both of them.

"I think its save again." While staying low and cautious, the punk came out of hiding and tried to see if someone was still out there.

She then whispered to her small friend, who was following after her "That was hella close. Nice call with the pots Maximus."

"Wowser, that was more exciting than I anticipated."

"Nothing is better than that, amiright?"

"Yea, well, you know what would have been better? Me staying dry. Its freaking cold."

"I didn't start the war, Caulfield."

"But you sure as hell didn't end it either, Price... so wanna go to my room? I Could lend you a towel to dry yourself."

"Yea, could hella use one thanks to you."

As stealthily as they could, the two girls headed towards the girls dorms, and went right inside Max's room after reaching it.  
Being in a safer spot now, both girls let out a big sigh of relief. After giving her friend a towel, Max suggested to lend her some clothes which were too big for Max anyways, but than the punk started to change into the new clothes right before her. Without thinking Max turned around to face the wall while blushing. The punk noticed that and blushed herself after realising that she was standing without a top in front of her crush, but than she thought that this whole night had been one big chance to make a move on the freckled girl.  
 _I'm head over heels for this girl, so why is it so hard for me to just tell her how I feel? This stupid photo ain't a reason for me to stop wanting her. I should just... just...  
_ While thinking Chloe somehow managed to build up enough courage to break the awkward silence.

"Oho, Max is scared of some skin now?"

"You? Scare me? You could never scare me... as long as we're not in a dark hallway again."

"Why did you turn around then?"

"Well... I wanted to look outside the window to see the stars again." Max said after looking desperately for an excuse. But as she turned back to Chloe again, she noticed that her friend was slowly moving closer. The geek didn't know what to do at first, making a step back while her cheeks were burning up at the gaze of the blue eyes of her friend.  
Then the bigger girl slyly whispered

"Why are you retreating if I don't scare you?"

The heat slowly numbed Max's body and mind. She didn't want to avoid Chloe at all, so she stopped moving backwards and instead waited for the bluenette to move closer, while eyeing her friends slightly flushed face. Max's reaction astounded the punk for a moment, but nonetheless she moved her hands slowly towards Max's face; the hunger for more has gotten too big over the past few days. The freckled girl on the other hand slowly closed her eyes as the cold hands embraced her face, but still couldn't get rid of the smile on her face nor the butterflies in her stomach.  
Then their lips connected.  
First there was containment, short and careful touches. Then desire followed quickly. Heat. Sorrow. Hunger.  
Max felt like she was living again. She never noticed how exhausted she really was until now with all that supernatural stuff going on. She just wanted to sink deeper in this ball of emotion and let go of everything else. She wanted to grab the punks waist to pull herself even more into the kiss but then there was a sudden interruption.  
Chloe took a few steps back and looked like she was feeling uncomfortable. Max was confused, didn't Chloe make the first step? Didn't she kiss her first?

"D...Don't say that this just now was a mistake, Che. If you... if you just felt a fragment of what I did, you know that this was perfect."

"I..." But Chloe was at a loss of words. While putting her hands over her face she felt like she wanted to kiss Max again, and again, and again, but somehow this didn't feel right.  
But Chloe knew that she wouldn't be able to bluff herself out that easily this time. She had already done too much without being sure about her own feelings. Now she had to be honest.

"I found something... a photo."

"Oh." was the only sound Max made while her face drastically changed. From happiness to fear.

"It's, well it fell out of your journey and... it showes me and you in my bed and... I... You... Did you love her Max? Did you love the other me." The plunk blathered out.

"I... Y-yes. I did. No, I still love yo-"

"She is not me Max. I... _We_ didn't experience the same fucking things. You... do you really love me? Or do you love her? I... damn it." While Chloe was talking she saw that her small friend was slowly getting angry at her accusation.

"What? Of course I love you ! Do you really think I would just kiss somebody I don't? What the fuck, Chloe..."

"But how can you know that? Maybe... maybe you're just projecting her on me."

Max didn't know how to handle this but she still longed for the blue haired girl. She took a step closer and wanted grab the other girls hands, but Chloe wouldn't let her take her hands as she shifted closer to the door.

"Do you want to leave? I won't force you to stay or anything, Chloe, if you don't want this you can go."

"Of course I want this... hella want this. But you're avoiding my question, which makes me think that I was right. You love her."

"What do you want me to say? Of course I love her. Of course I love You. If you really want to be with me, why do you try to run away?"

"Don't you talk to me about running away." Chloe's voice was being nastier than she anticipated it to be.

"Come on, me going to Seattle has nothing to do with this.

"It has to do with everything! How can I trust you ever again?!... You could just bail again, like everyone else." But the punks anger crumbled when she saw tears running down from Max face. "I didn't want to... I... I'm..." Chloe herself didn't even understand why she just screamed at her friend.

"... That... that doesn't mean I don't love you." The small girl said through her hands, which were holding her sobbing face as if it would fall apart without them.  
After hearing that Chloe immediately embraced Max, while stuttering that she was sorry and that she didn't mean it. The punk felt that her shell, she created over the years, cracked the closer she got to the freckled girl in her arms. She hated that feeling. Being vulnerable again. Didn't she promised herself to never be hurt by anybody again? But she just couldn't stay away from this girl. Seeing Max crying because of what she said was the thing that hurt her, so what should she do now? The only thing that came to the punk's mind was to hug her as tight as possible. Then a sniffling Max tried to say something through the punks shirt so Chloe let her move out of her arms, not a lot, just enough so that her face was free again.

"I... I n-need... you." As Chloe heard her friend whisper the words she wanted to hear for such a long time, she barely could control herself anymore. She wanted to kiss her again, just make out with her for the rest of their lives, yet she knew it would just end like it did a moment ago. But before she could think about any reason to not do anything she felt two hands grabbing her cheeks and pulling her down. It was just a peck. Just one small touch with their lips. Yet It was enough to destroy the rest of Chloe's miserable doubts.  
She nearly fell into Max, while wanting... while needing more. One kiss, a second one, the third was already long enough that both girls needed to pull back to catch some air.  
While making out, Chloe felt tears on her cheeks, but she didn't know which of them was actually crying. She herself? Max? Both? She didn't care either, she just wanted to chew those lips.

Max couldn't contain it any longer. She was just too happy. While kissing her blue haired friend she started to giggle. Chloe being here, in her arms, alive and in love. She knew that all of that would probably change drastically tomorrow, but right now she didn't care.  
After some time, both girls lied on Max's bed. No words needed to be spoken. Max's head lay on the punk's arm, as they cuddled together. Neither the brunette nor the bluenette knew if they've ever had felt this comfortable and safe in their life.  
Being exhausted from the day Max felt how she slowly sank into a sleep, which didn't bother her at all.

She needed to rest her body and mind for tomorrow.


	8. Friday

_Hmmm, good_ morning _world._  
 _Ah, the sun is not even up. How late is it anyways? It's still pitch black outside._

_Sleeping next to each other really calmed me down. Well, we just kissed, but still nothing to complain thought._

_Let's see, I should try not to wake up Che. Where is she sleeping anyways? Did she fall on the floor or what?_   
_That's weird. Did she move to the couch? Why would she?_   
_Nope, not on the couch..._   
_It's already 4 o'clock. So it's Friday..._   
_No need to panic yet, she is probably just on the toilet, and will be back in a few seconds._   
_Right?_   
_Right?_

_..._

_Fuck._  
 _Am I cereal? It's the end of the world-day and I manage to loose Chloe!?_  
 _What if something happens? I don't even know if I still have my powers. What if I need to use them to go back again?_  
 _I should test them now before it's too late._  
 _No. No. No._  
 _Didn't I already decide that I wouldn't use them anymore? These fucking powers could be the whole reason for all the shit that happened to me and Che. I need to see this through without a second chance.  
Just need to find the light switch, it's way too dark in here.  
_ _Aha, there it is._  
Oh.  
She isn't here.  
I really lost her.  
I-I need to find Chloe before it's too late. She can't die again!  
Okay. Okay. Calm down Max. Where could she be... Maybe she just went outside the dorm to smoke?  
Yes, that must be it, she'll be outside waiting with her beautiful smug smile, and a sassy comment about me panicking over something like this.  
But I should take my bag with me... most of the photos are in there. I need to be prepared for the worst.

* * *

The moment Dana saw Max coming out of her room, she knew something was off. The last few days Max has had her worried on several occasions: She didn't come to class regularly, she was avoiding her, Kate or pretty much anyone as far as Dana knew. _The last time we spoke was when I met this punky girl with blue hair._  
Max looked even paler than usual, while the rings under her eyes had gotten bigger than the eyes themselves.

"Hey Max!"

"D-Dana!"

"Too bad we didn't see you at the party."

"Hi... I... Sorry but I really have to go. Talk to you later." The small girl said quickly and wanted to sneak past Dana.

"Wait a second... Just wait!" Dana needed to raise her voice before the small girl stopped.

"What's going on Max? Changed your mind about going to the party? No one is there anymore."

As an answer Max just shook her head, while Dana noticed that the small girl before her was annoyed by Dana's questioning.

"It's in the middle of the night... so could a friend ask where you are going ?"

"And why are you still up if it's so late? Shouldn't you be in your room as well?"

"I just brought Juliet in her room, we're both part of the vortex club, remember? We stayed there till the end... but Max I'm not trying to accuse you of anything. I'm just worried.  
To be honest you don't look well, have you thought about seeing a doctor maybe?"

"I'm... I'm fine! But thanks Dana. And sorry for worrying you. But I really have to go now. We'll talk tomorrow, promise."

As an answer the freckled girl got a nod mixed with a worried look. "Tomorrow then."

But then Max reminded herself, that Dana may not make it through the storm. What if the girl who had always been kind to her and Kate would die because of Max's decision?  
 _And Kate, Warren, Joyce, David, Samuel, even Victoria... I-I need stop thinking or I'll start throwing up._ Max tried to snap out of her panic, which didn't go unnoticed by Dana.

Max needed to go. Now. As she started moving towards the exit again, still feeling the worried gaze of the girl behind her, she could only think about one thing: Finding the blue haired punk and bring her out of the Bay into and into safety. Everything else needed to be unimportant right now.  
Then the tense girl nearly laughed at her own thoughts. _I'm calling human lives. My friends lives unimportant now._ And yet there was no other way for her. If the storm would hit the town she needed to make a decision. No. She had already done that. She couldn't live without her bluer half anymore.

As the nervous girl went outside the dorm, there was no sign of Chloe. _Of course she is not here. Why would she? She is probably waiting at her car. Yes! The parking lot. Right next to her old truck. Waiting for me._ Max didn't even realized how delusional her own thoughts were at that point. __  
But when Max tried moving her legs her head started to spin so much that she needed to hold on to the handrail next to her. But after a few moments she began to move herself towards the parking lot anyways. A headache was slowly forming alongside the dizziness.  
As she came closer to the lot she more and more realized how ridiculous the idea of Chloe waiting for her was, yet the only thing Max could do was to quicken her steps until she was nearly running.  
But when she arrived the only things she found were some cars the brunette didn't recognize.

She started to cry. All alone, in the dark. The only things she still felt were the pain in her head.  
 _Che is probably dead by now. In a car accident, shot by someone, or maybe fucking lightning hit her... Why is all of this happening? I just can't anymore. Where should I go? What should I do? I just want a normal life with this stupid punk that I love so much, is that really too much to ask for? Was I really such a terrible person?  
_ Slowly the sobbing girl fell on her knees.  
She felt a a faint breeze on her face and knew that the storm was just hours away now.  
 _This is not about me. I shouldn't care about myself. I can't give up. I need to find her. I need to save her._  


Max slowly got up from the ground while rubbing her eyes clear from her tears.  
 _She will be at home. Sleeping in her bed. Silly me, where else could she be? I just need to follow this street until I hit the main road._

While nearly laughing because of her own tension, the scared girl made her first step and... everything went dark.

* * *

Nothing.  
For a moment there was nothing. She felt like she was lying in some kind of void. Then Max understood that she was lying on something. Slowly voices came closer, were then suddenly all around her. She could make out some screams. _Dana? Kate? Warren?_ But her eyes felt to heavy to open them.  
Her name. "Max!" She heard it over and over again. From different angels. From different voices. Was she dreaming again? Was the storm causing havoc?  
Max tried to open her eyes, but the only thing she could see was a bright white light hurting her eyes.  
Then a thought popped up. _Am I dead? The bright light... all the people calling my name... I_ _failed...  
_ She tried to stand up from the floor, but was pinned down by multiple hands rather roughly. _Geez, let me get up already..._ _or maybe... I'll just stay here for a little while longer now that it's too late anyway..._  
Still thinking about what was going on, her mind quickly fell into unconsciousness again.

Max didn't know how much time had passed, but there were no voices calling for her anymore, no screams and no hands grabbing here either which she was especially happy about. Even now she hated the feeling of being restrained. _  
_

The first thing Max tried was moving her arms. They felt heavy, just like her legs, yet she could still move them more or less. Clenching fists first, and after a while she slowly moved them towards her face before opening her eyes. Looking through her fingers her eyes needed to adjust to the bright room she was in.  
The room was white. White walls, white floor, a white table, even the bed sheet and her clothes were white. The only color Max could see that was not white was lying next to her legs.  
A blue. She knew that blue. It was hair. Slowly Max's eyes accustomed. Ripped jeans, sitting on a chair next to the bed Max was on. A black t-shirt, arms coming out of it, on which the blue head laid.

"H-hey?" Max said unexpectedly quiet.

The chest of the person next to her slowly rise and sank again. Now Max could make out a faint breathing. Chloe was sleeping. Next to her. Alive.  
 _Wowser... Chloe... she must have fallen asleep while watching over me... How long was I out? Also where am I? This is definitely not Blackwell. Maybe this really is some kind of heaven. That would explain Chloe sleeping quietly next to me.  
_ While being deep in her thoughts she suddenly realised that the sleeping person next to her was about to wake up.

"G'morning." Chloe said more to herself than anybody else while she was waking up. Then she realized that a pair of eyes was watching her. It took a few seconds but then she jumped up, and while the chair she was sitting on was flying backwards she tackled Max in a hug.

"Max! You're awake! You alright? What happened? Oh, thank god you're alright!"

"Can't... breathe..."

"Oh sorry, I... ehm... are you alright Max?" Chloe asked while quickly letting go of the still weakened girl.

"You already asked me that."

"Did I? Sorry, it's just... it's just... For a moment... I thought I had lost you." The punk confessed while tears ran down her cheeks. "You can't do that anymore Max. You're always struggling all alone. Not letting anybody get close to you. Not even me, truly." Max couldn't deny anything the teary girl in front of her just said. Yet, being close to the girl she loved and who she nearly lost forever, she didn't feel sadness, guilt or remorse. She felt free. It was over. Truly over. Chloe was alive, everything else had to come later. Would come later. But right now she just enjoyed seeing the blue haired girl in front of her.

"I won't."

"You hella won't! This was not a fucking question." The order forced a small smile to form on Max's face.

For some time the two girls just sat there together without talking or doing anything at all. Chloe was crying for some time, but after saying something about loosing all her 'hardcoreness thanks to the little hipster' she slowly calmed down.  
Although Max knew that she should wait a bit more before asking anything at all, she felt the anxiety slowly growing unbearable and asked the punk where the two of them were right now exactly.

"In the hospital of course, where did you think where we?" Max felt that if she answered with 'heaven' she would give Chloe enough ammunition for sassy jokes for a lifespan.

"I... was looking for you. Where did you go in the middle of the night?"

"Me? I went home. Even wrote you a little note and a sms to make sure you would know. I didn't want that people see me come out of your room. I... don't really have the best reputation in Shitwell."

_That makes sense... But why isn't she telling me anything about the storm? C'mon Max... ask her about it already, you need to know it. Be a woman for once._

"Che, I've got to know... how bad was it?"

"You had a seizure. The doctors I talked to said you had a lot of stress over a long period of time. You also didn't eat and sleep enough. Pretty much a anxiety attack gone hella bad."

"That is... You know what I meant. I could have guessed why I'm here."

"What do you mean then?"

"Che, do you think keeping it hidden will keep me from having another seizure?" Max thought that while it was kind of Chloe to try to protect her, she should just tell her already how many people died.

"What the hell are you talking about Max? Maybe you should lie down some more and calm down." The punk said while trying to push the small girl gently into the bed.

"What am I talking about? Chloe, not knowing who is still alive is worse than knowing who is... I-I need to know if someone I know survived."

"Survived fucking what?"

"The Storm, god damn it!" Max said a bit to loud, so that Chloe winced. "The giant tornado."

"I... I think I should call a doc. You worry me Max." But before the blue haired girl could go her hand got grabbed by Max. As she pulled Chloe closer to her, Max gazed into the other girls face and asked "There was no tornado? It must have come from the sea."

"Dude, Oregon gets about five tornadoes every 20 years. You just zoned. Also we are in the hospital. It's freaking close to the ocean."

"I... just zoned?" A big sigh came out of Max mouth while letting herself fall back into the bed. _No tornado. No one is dead. It's over isn't it? I... I didn't need to sacrifice someones life. Not Chloe. Not the city. Can I really accept this happy ending , or will I wake up and realize everything is shit again._ But as Max's eyes wandered from Chloe to the window she realized that broad daylight was shinning through it.

"Today isn't Friday is it?"

"You pretty much slept through the whole day, yesterday." The punk answered, with a confused and worried look on her face, which intensified when Max started to laugh.

"I can't believe it. The whole day?" As an answer she got a nod from Chloe.

"Are you... are you alright?"

"Honest to dog, I think I've never been better."

"Max... why are you crying then?"

"Huh?" Until now she didn't even realize how her eyes had started watering. Yet the fact that she was crying amused her even more. _I must look so out of my mind, right now. Poor Chloe, I guess I'll have to explain myself sooner or later or she won't stop worrying about me. Not that I mind the extra bit of attention from her. But the whole day... I was prepared for everything, but in the end I missed_ _everything. That's so... anticlimactic._

"Talk to me Super Max. There is more going on than what I know. What was supposed to happen yesterday? Let me in... please."

Then Max finally truly understood that the blue haired girl must have been scared to death, and was probably even now hurting because of Max fainting. The freckled girl thought for a moment if she should tell her about this messed up week, but then decided that the easiest way would be to just let Chloe read her journal. She had already seen that her bag was lying on the table in which her journal was supposed to be.

"Mind handing me my stuff?"

"Okay?"

"I want you to read my journal."

"You sure? When we were kids you always kept them real close to you. By the way it's really cute that you still write those."

"For better or worse I don't want, or can't hide all that stuff anymore. I think you'll understand me afterwards. And also, you are the only person I would ever allow to read them."

The blue haired girl gave her girlfriend a wink before opening the bag and letting an "Oh." slid.

"Sup?"

"Your camera is pretty much wrecked... well let's just say your camera fits my truck now. Probably happened when you fell on the ground."

"Well that's not important right now, just read the journal."

"Not important? We are talking about your Polaroid here. Who are you and what have you done to my Max Caulfield."

"Your Max?" The smaller girl's comment made Chloe blush a bit, nonetheless the punk answered "Mine. Mine alone. You hear that? You need to take better care of yourself, or you will damage my property." The punk's response forced a smile and a sigh out of Max.

"Just... just read the journal already. I honestly thought you would want to know what happened, yet you still make your usual jokes."

"I... I'm scared to be honest. What will I see in there? You? Me? Us? Maybe even Rachel? The things you will never be able to truly share with me?"

"Yes-" And after needing to swallow the emotions who were boiling up already she added. "All of those things."

Max saw how torn the punk was. Chloe was itching to read it, yet she knew some things would end up hurting her. She needed a moment before deciding to open it. "Everything? Like from the beginning?"

"Has it been so long since you left school? Do I really need to explain how to read a book to you?" As an answer the brunette got an outstretched tongue.

Then the two of them fell into silence for several minutes. The first things Chloe read were from the time before Max even came back to Arcadia Bay.  
 _Max was really excited to come back wasn't she?... Hey, she really thought about contacting me as well. Maybe I should have done so years ago... Wait you did want to have a tat after all!... So that's how we met the first time. Pretty awkward... Wait are you telling me her dream became reality? What the hell?  
_ At first everything seemed fine, but after a few more minutes Max saw how the expression of the punkster slowly started to change. Chloe looked disturbed. But Max decided that she wouldn't say anything for the moment. Chloe on the other hand started to feel guilty.  
 _This must have been horrible. Her friend Kate Marsh wanted to kill herself? I can't even imagine how fucked up it must have been when she found my little letter in American rust._  


A few more minutes passed. The punk was sobbing now.

 _This can't be real, she tried to save Dad?... This is a sick joke...  
_ For a moment Chloe stopped reading, and tried to wish her tears away. She then briefly looked up the Max.  
 _'Even if you feel like I wasn't there for you ... because I will never abandon you.' I never truly understood what she tried to tell me all those years ago...  
_ Max somehow managed to show a faint smile. This was not the usual smile Chloe fell in love with. Behind those kind of smiles were so much pain hiding. Chloe knew that because she often used this kind of expression to calm her mother down. _Stop looking like that_... _Don't blame yourself. You just wanted to help my fucked up life, you couldn't have know I'd end up in a wheelchair. You needed to decide between me and Dad. I can't blame you for your choice, no one should ever be_ _forced to make such a decision._  
The punk felt the urge to hug her girlfriend, or whatever they were to each other now, so she stood up and went over to the other girl, and embraced her.  
After a moment Chloe moved her face in front of Max's and they both gazed in each others eyes, then Max moved in and went for a kiss.

Making out felt like it would get the punk high in an instant. She felt all the anxiety and worries slowly melt away. It was like taking a shower after a exhausting summer day. Her whole body just relaxed, being so close to the smaller girl. There was only one thing she needed to focus on. But then both of them needed to take a break to breathe, only to kiss yet again. Chloe wouldn't have minded if they would just make out for the rest of the day, but Max sooner or later gently pushed her away and told her to read the rest of the journal.

"Awwww, just a goodbye kiss."

"Che, you need to take like 5 steps to get back to the table." Max knew what Chloe was trying and loved her for it. _She probably has all kind of emotions but still tries to help me._

"After I'm done with this damn diary I will get my smooch Caulfield!"

"Dork." Max couldn't help but chuckle. She felt relieved. Even if Chloe didn't read everything yet, the idea that the punk would want to leave after reading everything slowly left Max's mind.

_I just hope that we can be happy from now on._


	9. After the storm

Chloe wanted revenge on Max.  
How could Max fall asleep at a time like that? The freckled girl was finally ready to reveal the things haunting her for days, only to then fall asleep?  
 _I'll get you for that someday Caulfield. You should count yourself hella lucky that I don't have a Sharpie right now. You would be amazed how good I can draw a moustache..._  
Just look at her... like a sleeping princess. Hmm, maybe I should wake her up with another kiss? Naaa, she deserves to rest. At least for now.  
But I hope that she doesn't expect me to wait with the reading until she wakes up.  
Meeting Dad or saving me and Kate is some hardcore stuff no doubt about it, but is that really enough to have those ultra nightmares? Well, the answer is somewhere between those pages.

Soon the blue haired girl started reading the journal again, but was forced to stop rather quick when she heard someone coming. She didn't want to be found with Max's diary while she was asleep so Chloe managed to put everything back to where it was before Kate Marsh and a boy, whose name she didn't know, came in.

"Hey there, Kitty-Kate and...?" _This must be Warren, I guess?_

"Hey, Chloe-" Kate's usual smile transformed into concern for the punk as soon as she saw Chloe's face "Are you okay? Your eyes are really red."

"Yea, well... that happens if you cry like a baby. Max... she woke up and I couldn't help it, okay?" She confessed. While being embarrassed she pulled her beanie over her face.  
The punk didn't see a point in lying to Kate, while of course not telling her the entire truth either.

Chloe and Kate had their first real conversation just yesterday after meeting at the hospital. When she arrived Kate was the one who explained what had happened with Max. Since then the punk was convinced that Kate had the blood of someone holy running through her veins. She also met some other folks from Blackwell.

_Now that I think about it, I still need to thank Dana for finding and bringing Max here._

"And that's Warren by the way. A friend from school."

"Hi."

He and Chloe had seen each other briefly yesterday, but when the punk finally arrived after Dana had contacted her, he was already on his way out.  
' _Need to tell the teachers, so that no one'll wonder where they were' is an understandable reason to go, I guess... Still happy that I don't need to go through all that bullshit at Blackhell anymore._

Now that she had the time the punk examined Warren carefully. At first glance Chloe thought that he looked like a geeky nerdy guy, who would actually make a good couple with Max. She hated his guts.  
 _Max, you were right. He definitely wants in your pants. Can't blame him. But that doesn't mean that I like it either. Sorry, but you won't get even close to her, I'll make sure of that.  
But it shouldn't be me who drops the big-gay-bomb on your friends. That is something you need to go through yourself. Hmmm, I wonder what Mom'll say when she finds out._

Kate then asked "Sooo, did anybody else show up? Did the doctors say anything?"

"Oh shit. I probably should call her parents... I mean yes. Well, Mad Max woke up a hour or so ago, she just fell asleep a few minutes before you guys came in. And to be honest, I totally forgot to tell anybody." But Chloe hesitated. She didn't want to leave Max's side. _Especially when a horny dog is sitting right next to her._ She thought while starring at the clueless boy.

"Can I leave Max in your hands, for a moment?" The punk brought herself to ask Kate at last.

"Don't worry, I won't let her out of my sight!" Warren said while trying to give Chloe a reassuring smile.

"I bet you won't." She mumbled more to herself than anyone else before leaving the room.

Warren looked at the door for a moment and came to a conclusion. "She doesn't like me, does she?" But instead of answering Kate just chuckled a bit. She could guess why the blue haired girl couldn't stand Warren. _Looks like she hates rivals. Well, Warren can't even be described as a rival. I wonder if Max finally confessed to her after their fight the other day?_

* * *

As the blue haired girl went outside the hospital to call Max's parents, she decided to smoke a cigarette to calm her nerves before calling.  
She still couldn't wrap her mind around what she just read.  
It felt weird to see and talk to Kate after reading what happened in the other time line. _I just can't imagine a girl as happy as her to be suicidal. I couldn't even look her straight in the eyes when I asked her to look after Max for me. It must have been hella messed up for Max to see Kate again. Everything was set back to normal for everyone except for her.  
Like nothing ever happened. It's the same when she saw how I died over and over again. And afterwards it never happened... or did it?_ _..._

While exhaling some smoke from her cigarette, she felt a slight headache coming. To ease the headache, the punk started massaging her nose bridge. _Time traveling really fucks up your head, doesn't it? I guess, it's not important if it did actually happen or not . The only thing important is that it was real for Max and that she had to live with it alone...  
But from now on I can truly be there for her. No more hiding Bat Max, here I come!  
_A small grin formed on the smoking girls face when she started to remember their kiss just a few minutes ago. She still couldn't believe that she and her childhood friend were now dating. She couldn't believe it, yet she wasn't surprised about it either. _As soon as I saw Max standing in the corridor I knew that I wouldn't be able to hate her as much as I wanted to. Her freckles, her voice, her blue_ _eyes or her geeky haircut._ Just imagining Max again gave the punk so many butterflies in her stomach that she started giggling at herself _._ _I don't know what it was, but she just won me over way too fast. Hell, probably everything about her is just my type. But I'll never ever tell her that. She wouldn't stop mocking me about my softness. She should be awed about my_ hardcoreness _instead!_

Chloe let out a happy sigh, threw her cigarette in the bin, and pulled out her phone to contact Max's parents. Joyce talked yesterday with them after hearing that Max was in the hospital, but Chloe herself didn't speak with them in ages. It made her a bit nervous to actually call them. _Maybe an sms will be enough? Naaa... C'mon girl, it's not like you don't know Vanessa and Ryan. They were always kind to you. You can't just write an sms. That would be totally rude.  
_

The punk took a deep breath and then called the Caulfield family.

"Hello? Caufields here." A female voice was on the other side of the call. _Vanessa._

"Uhm. Hey. It's Chloe. Chloe Price."

"Chloe dear! Oh, it must have been years since I last heard your voice. Don't take it wrong if I don't ask you've been doing, but I need to know how my daughter is doing. That is why you called, right?."

"Yea, no offense taken. And Max is fine. She woke up about an hour ago. Now she is sleeping again thought. Probably best for her right now."

"That's great to hear. I'm happy that you two are friends again." _More like girlfriends._ The punk thought with a grin on her face. "She probably never told you, but the first few months in Seattle were terrible for her. She only wanted to go back and see you. But you know Maxine, she was always a shy one. At some point she was to scared to call you."

Hearing how their separation was not just hard for Chloe, made the blue haired girl happy in a weird kind of way. But then Chloe heard a small sigh, and instantly knew that the mother of her girlfriend was about to say something that wasn't easy for her.

"I asked Joyce already, but you are probably closer to Maxine. Is she being bullied?"

"What? N-no, I don't think so."

"Chloe darling, if you know something, anything at all we would be really glad to hear it. Me and my husband are worrying to death over here. And since last week she didn't call or write as much as she used to." Chloe understood how Vanessa felt, but couldn't just tell them what she now knew. She was forced to make up something. She started scratching the back of her head through her beanie, while trying to come up with anything that would get her out of this.

"I, well... uhmm. Okay. Yes. Some assholes started picking on her in school." The phone was quiet for a moment after the punk had finished her sentence. She felt guilty for lying to Max's parents like that, but there wasn't any other way out of this, was there?

"Why didn't you try to help her then? Are you not her best friend?" The sudden accusing tone in Vanessa's voice threw Chloe off balance.

"Uh? I don't even go to school with her. I-I can't be around her all day long." _Even if I wish I could._

"But you should have noticed that something was off, as her friend. Joyce told me that the doctors said she ate and drank nearly nothing!" The punkster didn't know how to answer those accusation, because Vanessa would probably be right if the time traveler would have been bullied and Chloe wouldn't have been an emotional wreck for half the week.

"Honey? Who're you talking to?" A deep voice interrupted the conversation. Max's father was now talking to Vanessa. Chloe was thankful to be taken out of the line of fire.  
While the punk didn't understand every word she still heard enough through the phone to follow their discussion. Vanessa explained her husband that their daughter was being 'heavily' bullied by other students. Ryan sounded concerned, but still tried to calm his wife. But she just wouldn't give in about it. The punk imagined that Vanessa was tearing up, from what she heard. Then she deciphered something that let shudder.

"Letting her go back to Arcadia Bay was a mistake, after all."

Chloe had so much to say. Max saved her life more than once. She had been there to help her through the fact that Rachel was really gone forever. And last but not least was the girl she fell in love with and who loved her back. It had been the best thing in her life that the freckled girl came back to the Bay, not a mistake, and she wanted to scream that in her phone, but of course Max's mother wouldn't understand a thing. Still, it was not fair.

When she heard the phone being picked up again the punk tried to sound like she didn't hear anything at all, but couldn't really judge how she was doing.

"Chloe?" It was Ryan this time.

"Still there."

"Sorry 'bout that. You know how me and my wife are. We were never the best if it comes to letting go of our little daughter. Vanessa shouldn't have blamed your for something like this, please don't be mad at her." _Ryan. At least his honesty is still there, like it was back then._

"No. No. It's fine, really! Vanessa is... right." Chloe needed to force herself to say that. "It's just that Max had a long talk with... the ones who did the bullying... and it seems most of their problems could be put aside."

"Really?" The blue haired girl could hear the relieve in his voice. "While it doesn't sound like her to approach other people like that, it certainly is a good thing. Thanks for telling us Chloe. We were already thinking about bringing Max back to Seattle and letting her attend a school there."

Chloe's heart missed a beat after hearing that. Taking her away? Again? Max needed Chloe after all of this. Chloe needed Max after all of this. Until now it hadn't even crossed the punk's mind that Max may someday would need to go back to Seattle.

"You can't!" She said while cursing herself for her shaky voice.

"We can't?" Ryan was surprised by the punk's sudden response. _They would just do what they thought was best for their child_

"Ehhmm." Chloe needed to clear her throat before she could say anything. "Wouldn't it be good for Max if-if uhm... if she would be able to overcome it by herself? I mean it like that, if she goes back to Seattle and some pricks bully her there as well, she should at least have learned to stand her own, doesn't she?"

"Hmmm. That's a valid point, I tried to make as well, but Vanessa doesn't think so, unfortunately."

"But... shouldn't it be about what Max thinks, not you or Vanessa?" _Geez, they'll think I'm an asshole for butting in to their parenting like that. But fuck the image they'll have of me now. I won't let anyone take away my hippie._

"Chloe, please don't think that we want to take Maxine from you or anything. And don't worry it's not like we had anything planned already, it was just an idea that sprung into our mind once or twice."

"T-thanks." Now Chloe felt like Max's parents just messed with her. _Look at me getting hella flustered about just an idea... It didn't sound like just an idea moments ago, thought._

"Anyways, thanks for calling. Say hello to Joyce for me. And keep my daughter safe, will ya?"

"Aye aye, sir." After hanging up Chloe let out a big sigh, but her tension didn't get any better. _Vanessa was right. I knew that she was in some deep shit, but I just cared for myself... From now on I'll protect her. From the very beginning super Max's top priority was to protect me. I'll do the same from now on, protecting her from everything, even herself. Geez, Geez, I need some stuff to get high now..._ _Either on dope or Max... Or both._

* * *

After this awkward conversation Chloe started searching for someone who looked somewhat important and found a doctor. She told him that Max had woken up and the doctor came right with her. As they entered the room they found Max being now fully awake. He explained to all of them that Max, as long as she eats and drinks enough from now on, could actually leave the hospital today, because her case wan't very serious.

"The worst was probably the scare you all got from it." He said to reassure them, before leaving.

"I knew I hated horror flics for a reason!" The punk joked.

"You do? Must be because you've never seen a good one before! I could give Max my flash-drive again, or even better we could do a movie night. Halloween is right around the corner, isn't it?"

As much as Chloe felt like protesting against an idea from Warren, she knew that Max would drag her into this anyways. Even when she hated those movies.

"That sounds great. A geeky horror night. You'll come too Che, right?" Still lying on the bed Max asked Chloe, while giving her puppy eyes. How was the punk supposed to say no to that.

With a sigh Chloe gave in. "How I know my Dracu-Max, I won't be able to escape them anyways. So, why the hell not."

"Could I come, too?" Kate asked shyly. Everyone turned their faces towards her while being surprised.

"You want to come, too?" Chloe asked bluntly. Kate nodded as an answer. "Count me surprised. You don't look like someone who would enjoy seeing how people get torn apart by some disgusting monsters. Normal people don't enjoy that."

"Of course you can! I actually thought that it was obvious that you should come too." Max said while ignoring the last few words the punk directed at her. The invitation made Kate surprisingly happy. "But for now let's just get out of here. I've no time to waste sitting here."

"You didn't just say that."

"Chloe!" The freckled girl looked shocked at her friends comment, and Chloe realized why. They weren't alone. Kate and Warren just looked at them with confused faces.

"Inside joke between the two of us." The blue haired girl explained with a grin on her face.

After Max got her clothes and the rest of her stuff, Warren waited outside until Max was done changing, the four of them talked some more on their way out. Chloe suggested that she could drive all of them back to Blackwell. But Warren and Kate declined her offer because they drover here with Warren's own car.  
After saying their goodbyes the two girls moved towards the old truck. Now they were alone.

"Soooooo, you won't tell them?"

"What? They would never believe me."

"Why not? Warren would definitely be heartbroken, but keeping him at bay is pretty cold too, isn't it?"

"Wha.. ohhh, you meant that."

"Us?"

"Yeah, sorry. Still a bit slow after all that sleeping." As if Max had summoned it, she started letting out a big yawn, which forced a smirk on the punks face. After rubbing her eyes Max then said "Kate already knows that I love you. I told her when we had our little quarrel."

Even now it made Chloe blush to hear Max confessing her love for her so casually. She couldn't hold the urge to kiss the other girl any longer, touched Max's face with her hands gently, moved closer and pushed her lips on the other girls. After some time the blue haired girl filled the kissing with more passion and Max bent over the backside of her truck, till the smaller girl nearly fell inside. When their lips finally departed Max let out a sigh of happiness. "Wowser... You really have no shame, do you?"

"Fuck shame! Nothing will stand between me and that bony white ass."

"You're impossible!" Max punched the other girl on the shoulder.

"You bet I am. I would have loved to see Kate's expression when you told her, thought. I bet she was shocked like a true christian." Then her voice shifted into a serious tone. "That aside, when should I read part 2 of your wild adventures?"

"This is no joke, Che..." The freckled girl said with a smile on her face. She knew that Chloe didn't mean to offend her. The joking should probably cheer her up. "As soon as you want to. I could give you the journal right now if you want."

"As soon as possible would be good, but I think I've already had my fill with the shit I just read for the next few hours."

"Sorry to push this all on you like that." The small girl said while her voice now became sadder.

"Woha, keep it down mad Max. More like sad Max. You didn't push shit on me. It's pretty much the opposite, I hella forced you to tell me all of this. Remember our fight the other day? When I said that I'm filled I didn't mean that it was your fault or anything. Nothing of this is your fault. You just tried to do what you thought was right. And, oh yea, right, it saved my life, so you must have done at least something right."

She embraced her girlfriend in a tight hug, and only released her after she had made sure that Max was feeling alright again.

"Thanks..." The two girls then went inside the truck and while Chloe tried to start the motor Max asked "Where is our course set, Captain?"

"Two whales of course! We didn't have brekkie. There is no good day without brekkie first!"

"I know what the doctor said but I really don't have an appetite, right now."

"Dude, you didn't eat in nearly 2 days. You'll eat some waffles and drink a coffee, even if I've to force feed you."

"Waffles and coffee? That's probably not what the doctor had in mind."

"But those're your hipster weaknesses. You won't be able to resist them as soon as you lay your eyes on them." Chloe said while the truck started driving towards the diner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> A Chloe heavy chapter this time. I felt like giving her some more screen time :3


	10. A normal day?

Max was eating her waffles.  
She didn't have a choice after all because a pair of blue eyes were watching her every move _. When Chloe commands you to eat, you either eat or you get eaten.  
_ But the freckled girl had to admit that Chloe had been right. After the first few bits her stomach started growling and nothing could stop her from shoveling more of the waffles in her mouth.  
While tasting the nostalgic taste of the Two Whales waffles the realization kicked in once more. It was Saturday. Max had done it. She was free. But it wasn't only that. She was not alone. A certain blue haired punk was sitting on the other side of the table, smiling at Max's craving for more food. As she looked up from her plate she got lost in those blue eyes for a moment. _She is safe, isn't she? Probably still worried about me, but safe._  
She felt how her hands started to shake thanks to a mix of happiness and some anxiety, that would probably never fully go away. The fork Max was holding, fell on the plate.

"Is everything okay, Super Max?" The punk asked with a concerned voice.

"Okay? I... guess it is?" Max shrugged. But then she suddenly shook her head. "No, not just okay. I'm here. You're here. It's perfect. I-I mean... I'm just happy." For a moment Chloe was worried, but then she saw the most innocent smile she had ever seen on Max's face. A face of happiness, not sorrow or guilt. _That's when you shine the most Caulfield._ Was what came the punk to mind when she saw the other girl like this.  
When the first tears ran down from the freckled face, Max started to giggle at herself. The punk didn't need long to realize what she had to do. She stood up, sat herself right next to Max and started to caress her. Max sighed and then buried her face in Chloe's chest for some time. While one of Chloe's hands was slung around Max back to pull her closer, the other one tenderly went through the brown hair with it's fingers. The blue haired girl knew that those tears were tears out of happiness, yet Chloe felt like she needed to comfort her somehow.

"Hey... There's no need to cry, is there?" Chloe whispered into Max ear, with a voice as sweet as honey. Feeling the breath on her ears made Max blush a bit, but no one could actually see it because she still had her face pressed against the punk. But for Max the most calming part was that the small girl felt the touch of her girlfriend on her head. It was like an insurance that Chloe wasn't going anywhere. Max took a few deep breaths and savored the smell of her girlfriend. She didn't care if someone would find it weird, but the smell of cigarettes mixed with Chloe's shampoo was hypnotizing for her, and she probably would have held on to it a bit longer if Joyce didn't come over to them.

The moment Joyce saw Max's face not having a sad expression but looking rather happy, after she removed it from Chloe, calmed her. "I never knew my waffles taste so good that one would cry because of it." _Mother like daughter. Joking was always their way of showing that they care about me._ Max found it amusing how similar the two women could be sometimes. "But seriously are you okay, honey?"

"Y-yea, I'm fine. Thanks." The smaller girl answered, still with a smile on her face.

"Looks like my daughter, already took good care of you anyways." Chloe's mother said in an undertone which sounded somewhat odd. Max didn't understand what she meant at first, but after looking over to Chloe who was now as red as a lobster, she also realized what Joyce meant. The two of them were still cuddled together, and only after Joyce made her comment about the two of them, they separated from each other. Without adding anything further the waitress went back to her work.

In a low voice Max asked the other girl. "Did you tell her about us?"

"So there is an us?"

"What does that mean? Of course there is, unless you don't want it to be."

"Sorry, that sounded hella wrong. What I meant was that we never really cleared what we are."

"I love you." Max answered casually with a shrug of her shoulders. This wasn't the first time she said that, but those words still caught the punk of guard every time she heard them. "So, do you want to go out with me?" Max asked after looking over her shoulder to see that Joyce was distracted by a customer.

"Since when have you become so bold, hippie? I'm supposed to be the bold one! I should be the one asking you out."

"Then do so already, dork!"

"But shouldn't we wait for... I don't know, something romantic?"

"Wowser... I thought you hated corniness. Looks like under that hard punkster-shell of yours hides a soft sentimental girl after all."

"I just don't want to fuck this up. This is important for me... _You're_ important to me."

"... Chloe?"

"Yea?"

"Do you love me?"

"Y-yes, of course!"

"So, why are you scared of messing things up? I don't need anything else but to know that you do. And as a side note: It didn't hinder you to make out with me right in front of the hospital, did it?"

"I just felt like kissing you back then..." And with a groan she added. "We met less then a week ago, at least I did, and there is already this... thing between us. I just feel like-"

"We're moving too fast?"

"Yea!... Maybe? Now it sounds like I want to break up. I don't! In fact I think you may be the best thing that happened in my life."

"If you're really bothered with us moving to fast I won't try to kiss you anymore or something. I want you to be comfortable around me, not tensed up." More than anything else Max wanted things to be good for Chloe, but still she was somewhat pleased by the horrified look on Chloe's face after she made that proposal.

"Don't do that to me, Caulfield. That would be punishment! I need you... Actually, that's what scares me the most. When I heard you were in hospital it literally took my breath. And when I saw you lying there in the bed..." Tears appeared in the punks eyes. "It hurt so much." Chloe was being surprisingly honest, which the smaller girl didn't expect.

"Hey... C'mon, let's get out of here. Let's go somewhere nice where we can talk in private, okay?" Max said as she grabbed Chloe's hand and pulled her on her feet. "I don't think we need an audience for this type of talk."

"Yea, sounds good..."

* * *

While the blue haired girl was driving them to Chloe's house, there was an awkward silence in the car as if they just had a fight. But neither of them was angry. Max was actually quiet giddy about Chloe's honesty. _She said 'I'm the best thing that happened in her life'._ She couldn't restrain the grin that formed on her lips after remembering those words. She then noticed that the punk was gazing over to her from time to time, while still trying to keep an eye on the road. _She looks so worried right now. She probably thinks I'm angry at her. Hmmm, she looks cute when she's worried._ Max observed with delight how a hand reached out for her's. The giggling girl took Chloe's hand and gently squeezed it. After they started holding each other's hands Chloe stopped looking over and focused on driving with only one hand at the wheel.

After a short while the punk said, "You could have told me that you're not mad."

"Did I really make the impression that I was angry with you?"

"I don't know. You just stopped talking as soon as we sat in my truck."

"Well, I didin't want to distract you from the road. Also, you look cute when you're worried." Max confessed, still a sly smile on her face.

"So you knew, you little bitch! Lucky you that I'm focusing on driving right now."

"I hope you remember how it ended last time you messed with the best swashbuckler in all the seven seas."

"Eat me."

"And here I thought you didn't want to rush things with us." Max watched with delight how the other girl's face went up in flames.

"Perv." Chloe said as she shook her head.

Sometime later they reached the house and the punk parked in front of the garage gate. The two girls made their way inside the house, both of them now in a much better mood. Then they went straight in Chloe's room. The blue haired girl didn't waste a second to lit a cigarette as she turned the stereo on.  
Now with 'Stand by me' playing she sat herself on her bed. _Sorry, you probably hate the smell of cigarettes but I just have to relax right now._ Chloe thought, but then her eyes narrowed as she said, "You know, you have way too much fun playing with my emotions."

Sitting on the chair next to the bed, Max crossed her arms behind her head and answered with a smile on her face. "It's your fault for being so god damn adorable."

"Don't think complimenting me will save you."

"Won't it?"

"... Maybe."

"Never knew you liked Ben E. King by the way. Thought you weren't into that retro hipster thing."

"How can King be retro? Was there ever not a King time? Well, that aside for now, we should continue where we left off in Two Whales." Chloe said as she put out the cigarette on the ashtray next to her.

"Sure." Max knew they would end up talking about heavy stuff again and wanted to be closer to Chloe, so she moved herself to the bed next to the the blue haired girl.

"So we're together then?"

"I think so."

"Max Caulfield is my legit girlfriend?" The punk asked again.

A giggle escaped Max's lips. "You're such a dork. Yes, I'm your girlfriend. And so are you, Miss legit girlfriend."

The punk then suddenly snuggled up against Max. "Hmm, I like the sound of that."

"I sure hope so. I never expected to be your girlfriend at all, so all of this is like a wish come true anyways. That's also why you don't need to feel pressured. The only thing I want from you _is_ you, Chloe."

"I know... I just... never expected to be able to let anyone so close to me ever again. After Rachel disappeared I... created a cage for myself where I would be able to isolate myself from everything that could hurt me."

"Chloe..."

"Yea, yea I know, it's not like me to get all sentimental, but when I saw you in the hospital it hit me. Did someone tell you what my reaction was when I came into the room?" After Max shook her head Chloe continued, "I threw up! I actually threw up! Fortunately I managed to get into the bathroom. I was so scared of the mere thought of you being seriously hurt that my body reacted on it's own. I just then really realized that you somehow managed to enter my cage." The freckled girl, now being close to tears after hearing what Chloe just told her, threw herself at the bigger girl. Max's arms wrapped around her girlfriend and gave her a long tight hug. When Max started talking again the punk could feel her breath on her neck, which gave her ' _hella_ ' goosebumps.

"Our lives have been awkward and painful, but if the last few days have taught me one thing, it's that we deserve to be happy... to be in love."

The two girls didn't move for a while. They just sat there embracing each other, giving each other the feeling that there was someone else who cared about them. A feeling of warmth, unknown to both of them.  
Chloe was the first to release her hug, now looking not as sad as she did a few moments ago. "Damn, now that you say it, I still need to read the rest of your journal. Totally forgot about that already."

"I can give it to you now, if you want to?"

"Naaa, I've got a better idea for now." The punk said while slowly moving in and pressing her lips against her girlfriends. Max felt a hand grabbing her neck and gently pulling her more into the kiss. She didn't resist at all, because her own hands were already grabbing Chloe by the waist, doing the same. The freckled girl felt how an alien tongue entered her mouth and let out a faint moan when it collided with her own. Both of them were grinning when their lips finally departed from one another. Their foreheads were still connected and for a moment the two of them just stayed like that, looking into each other's eyes while trying to catch some air.  
Max suddenly felt the urge to jump on top of the bigger girl, but before she did so she remembered that there was no one else in this house right now and If she didn't stop herself now, she was not sure if she would be able to do so if this lasted any longer. _I don't want to rush things, do I?... Of course I do, but we need to stop now, for your own sake!_ Max shifted a bit away from Chloe, but before the punk could complain about it the smaller girl asked,

"Do we plan to tell your mother about our relationship? It's fine by me if we don't. Being in love behind closed doors somehow feels exciting."

"Damn, you really read too many corny love stories. If it's just mom I think it should be alright, but I don't know how my step would take it. He has been... nicer since you came into my life, which by the way just shows how awesome you're, but I don't know if he would be cool with it. He's a prick after all."

 _Are you cereal? And here I thought you two were finally getting closer._ But Max didn't want to talk about David, knowing that it would end with Chloe being angry at him again, so she tried to move the discussion away from him. "So Joyce never knew that you're..."

"Hella gay? Well, me and my mother never had 'the talk', but I think she somehow already guessed that I'm at least not straight. Just remember how she looked at us in Two Whales."

"I remember you blushing because of it."

"Shut it. Wanna watch some movies? We have the whole house for ourselves till my mom comes home." The blue girl stood up and moved towards the door. As she went through her blue hair with one of her hands she noticed that her beanie was on the ground. She picked it up while thinking about their situation. She actually didn't feel like watching movies at all, but she needed some distraction from the smaller girl. _Geez, I don't think I would have been_ _satisfied with just a bit of making out_ _if she didn't break the kiss just now. And that after I said we shouldn't rush into things. Doesn't I normally like rushy?..._  
Just don't want this to be done wrong... I always thought that I could never trust anybody in my life after all. This is pretty much the first time someone is this important to me.  
First time... Wait a second, didn't she say that she never had a boy or girlfriend in Seattle? Does that mean... Chloe turned around and starred at her girlfriend.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Max asked with a somewhat concerned voice, after seeing how a wicked smile formed on the bigger girl's face.

"Oh, nothing... I'm just hungry." _For you, that's it, Caulfield._

"I somehow doubt that. You have your 'I am a bad egg' face on, right now."

 _I'll make your first experience something you'll remember forever._ The punk thought as she went downstairs. "What're you talking about? I only have nice faces."

"Faces only a mother could love. And me." Max countered as she came downstairs as well.

"That's so sweet of you. Now move your ass on the couch or I'll be forced to give you some assistance." The punk ordered while preparing some snacks in the kitchen.

"Yessir." The brunette made herself comfortable on the sofa, and was looking forward to a day with nothing but a blue haired punk and some trashy flicks.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Didn't you say that no one would be here today?"

"Yep. David said he had some kind of meeting with the other guardsman. Must be a package someone ordered, or something like that." Chloe said as she moved to the door.  
But when she opened the door she didn't find a mailmen waiting for her, but instead a middle aged man dressed in a black designer suit who was standing before her. Somehow the punk felt that she had seen him somewhere before, yet could not remember who he was. He had brown hair, which was slowly growing grey on the sides. He wore glasses which by themselves looked more expensive than their whole house. And despite the smile on his face, she felt an intimidating aura oozing from him.

She felt how her throat started drying up and she needed to gulp before asking, "Hello, can I help you with something?"

"Good afternoon Miss Price. Excuse me for interrupting your day, but I'm looking for Miss Max Caulfield. I heard that she accompanied you here."

"I didn't catch your name, mister?..."

"Oh my! How could I forget," The man said with a obviously faked chuckle. "I'm certain you've heard of me before. My name is Sean Prescott."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now. ^^
> 
> Hope you all liked the chapter :3 if you didn't, please let me know it so I can improve my writing :P


	11. Negotiation

This was probably the first time that Max was thankful that her blue haired friend didn't knew how deep the Prescotts were involved in Rachel's death.

_Thankfully she didn't yet read the last part of my journal._

As she stood up from the sofa to move in the corridor, she didn't let the man out of her eyes for even a second. What did he want from her?

"You must be Maxine Caulfield?"

"What do you want from me?"

"I'm the father of Nathan Pre-"

"I didn't ask for that. I already know _who_ you're."

"Coming straight to the point, are we? I like your spirit _Miss_ Caulfield." Sean Prescott said as he still stood in the door. The punk was blocking the entrance with her body, and didn't even think about letting him one step closer to her girlfriend. She didn't fully understand what was going on, yet she knew that Nathan had been involved in this whole dark room mess, so she couldn't trust Nathan's father one bit.

"I don't want to be liked by you either. Chloe if he does have nothing to say just close the fucking door."

"You got us good, Maxine." He suddenly dropped the polite act and his voice turned into a sharp and toxic one. Max hated to hear her full name but she found it on the other hand somewhat fitting that a person she despised would use a name she hated.

"I didn't do anything, Mr Prescott. You were the one who bought the... the bunker for your son."

"Yes, because I thought he would use it for his meaningless little _club_!"

"The vortex club?" Chloe asked.

"He always wanted money for their petty little parties so I assumed that this was nothing else. I _never_ bother with worthless things like that. But still, look what happened to my family! My son needs to do some psychological tests right at this moment, and if that was not enough to ruin the future of the Prescott's, the police is commencing a court process against me and my son! The annoying investigation aside, do you know what that'll _cost_ me?!" It somehow didn't shock Max that Sean Prescott's biggest worry was not his son probably getting locked away in a mental hospital or something like that, but what he had to pay for all of this.

"And you think you don't deserve this?" The freckled girl couldn't understand how this man could be blind to his own fault in all of this. He never paid attention to his own son. Never showed him affection. This ultimately led to Nathan being a broken person.

"Of course I don't! Did I touch any of those girls? Your teacher was the monster, not me. He was also the one who forced my son to all of this. Nathan is not mad man, he's a Prescott."

"You really have no idea, do you? Nathan admired Jefferson's work."

"Don't think _you_ know more about my son than I do, Miss Caulfield. You _don't_. All of his life some weak peasants wanted to gain influence over him. First this club, and then the teacher. That's the burden a man who'll someday inherit my empire has to carry. Being Alone. Not being able to trust anybody, knowing that they would try to exploit him for their goals."

Max let out a sigh. She couldn't care less about what Nathan's father was thinking. In fact she didn't even feel sorry for Nathan because she hated this boy too much for everything he had done. _Empire? Is he being cereal right now?_

Chloe suddenly spoke up in an annoyed voice. "So what? _Who_ cares about this? Just tell us why the hell you came to my mom's house or I'll throw you out." Her threat visibly angered the wealthy man in front of them.

"As I already said, you got us good, Maxine. So that's why I came all this way to ask you to sign this statement that'll explain that the Prescott family is fully innocent." He pulled out a piece of paper and gave it to the blue haired girl who in return gave it to Max who was still behind Chloe. The punk still wouldn't let him inside the house.

 _So he basically asks me to save him from ruin. At least his_ _reputation would get buffed if I did this._ The brunette tried to wrap her head around the whole new situation she just found herself in. But even after taking a look at this paper, the only answer that came to Max's mind was, "Why should I?"

"Why should you? You're dooming me and my family despite us being innocent, and you just ask why? A true hero, aren't you? Let me get this right, as soon as this dumb high school drama is over-" The punk raised her fist, but before it could crash into Sean Prescott's face, Max was there to stop her. Both of her arms were pulled around the bigger girl, holding her tight.

"High school drama?!..." Chloe spat those words, boiling with anger.

"That's enough. We're better than that!"

"Fuck better, he'll bleed for this."

"A wise choice to stop her, Maxine." The man in the suit said as he pointed a finger at the enraged girl.

"Just shut up already!"

"Chloe!"

"I won't him let him talk about Rachel like that!"

"He wants you to act like that. Don't let him influence you. You're smarter than that."

And after a short while the smaller girl could feel how Chloe somewhat relaxed in her arms. "Tzz. I know... you can let go of me by the way..." The freckled girl hesitated but after a short moment she let go of the the punk. She was still angry but Max was pretty sure she wouldn't try to hit Nathan's father anymore. _She understood what I wanted to say. Good. He just needs one mistake to be able to use us._ Max thought, but she also saw that he was genuinely scared when the bigger girl exploded a moment ago. _Not so much of a man when it comes down to it, are you?_

Nathan's father cleared his throat before he started talking again. "If I were you I would think very good about my decision. Just imagine how Arcadia Bay'll would be if I would start to take an interest in reorganizing the local food supplies. Even a good running diner like that of your mother won't be able to survive without fresh groceries, Chloe Elizabeth Price." Both girls needed a moment to understand what he was trying to say. Was he threatening to destroy Two Whales? "Hmmm, maybe I should start thinking economical and cut the money that is being spent for the maintenance of the dorms in your school, Maxine? They probably would need to drop the number of students they could have in their dorms."

"Are you... are you blackmailing us?" The punk asked bluntly. Which made Sean Prescott chuckle a bit. _Is he enjoying this? Yea, he probably feels great to have power over two teenage girls. What a great man he is, my ass!_ Chloe said to herself as she clenched her fists again. She would have loved to break his nose, or some teeth... or the whole face.

"Me? I just tried to explain the consequences of not signing this statement. Blackmailing is such an evil word, I merely wanted to help you two ladies to see the whole scope of the situation you're in right now. But don't be all tensed up now, I don't need it to be signed until next Friday. I think about a week is more than enough time to consider your choices." The man in the suit said.

"Yep, definitely blackmailing. And also this was a really cheesy line you just said." The punk said, trying to make fun of the man in the suit. But as she turned her head towards the small girl behind her, she saw that her girlfriend was on the bring of despair. _Oh no... She thinks that all of this is her fault again._ Chloe instantly knew what was going on in Max's head. She had seen this expression too many times over the past few days to forget it already.

With a shaky voice Max tried to beg Sean Prescott, "Y-you can't do that... W-we didn't... we didn't do anything w-wrong! Please, j-just leave us alone already..."

"But that's exactly what I want. All you have to do is to sign this statement and I _promise_ you, I'll never get close to you or any of your little friends ever again."

"I... I..." The small girl couldn't find her breath. It sounded like she was about to hyperventilate.

"No, no. Don't decide just yet. we don't want to rush things, do we? Just think over it very carefully. I'll take my leave now. Hopefully we'll see each other next Friday for the last time in our lives, _Miss_ Caulfield." Chloe could see that he was enjoying this, since he had a faint smile on his lips as he moved back to the car he probably came from.  
The punk slammed the door and immediately embraced the smaller girl.

"I-I...so sorry... Joyce... my fault..." Max stuttered through her girlfriends t-shirt. _God fucking damn it, since Thursday she has become so much more open. I won't let you through this shit alone this time,_ The blue haired girl thought as she squeezed the smaller girl even stronger. She could feel that Max was struggling to breathe. Should she call an ambulance? She was scared of the thought that Max may had another seizure coming. But then, to her relief, she heard a faint voice.

"Chloe... I never wanted to pull you or Joyce into this."

"The fuck? What's that supposed to mean? I'm gonna bring myself into this, even if you don't want me to."

"This is not the time to be joking!" The freckled girl suddenly shifted out of Chloe's hug and stared at her face. "He... He'll hurt you and your mother. I promised that I'll protect you from something like that."

"Yep, you did and you know what? I'll promise you that I'll protect you from it as well. Huh? Wait, what're we gonna do now? Looks like we have to do protect each other, after all."

"Stop messing around!" Max screamed at her girlfriend, as she pushed her away. The smaller girl then started hugging herself.

"C-Calm down." It hurt the punk to be rejected like that. She just wanted to be together with her freckled girlfriend after all. Everything else was of minor importance.

"You can't help me!"

Right in front of Chloe's eyes images of Max leaving her behind started popping up. _'I can't talk to you about it. I don't want to bring you in danger. You would mess things up. I don't trust you. I don't need you ...'_ The blue haired girl couldn't get rid of the feeling that the smaller girl was about to abandon her. "Don't yell at me like that..." Chloe's voice was nothing more then a whisper at that point.

But the smaller girl didn't stop screaming. Max was angry at Nathan's father, not Chloe, but her emotions were consuming her like flames. "It's too dangerous. I can't risk to loose you at any cost!"

"Please, Max... just cut it out already..."

"You don't know what he's capable of!"

"I just want to-" But the punk was being cut by the loud voice of the small girl.

"Why don't you understand? I can't le-" A sudden bang followed by pain made the smaller girl stop talking. Her head was thrown to the side. her cheek felt numb, and at first she was to dazzled to understand why.  
Chloe had slapped her in the face. It hurt, but not as much as the fact that it was Chloe who was the one who hit her. The Chloe she loved. For a moment she just stood there, her mouth wide open. She felt how her stomach started cramping, thanks to rage and anxiety boiling up inside of her. It felt like she was about to explode. But as her gaze returned to the blue haired girl, she didn't find an angry punk gazing at her, but a broken girl who had eyes full of fear. This view was more than enough to defuse the bomb of emotions inside of her.

"Stop isolating yourself!" The punk screamed at her. Her hands were clasped over her mouth in horror over what she just did to the smaller girl. Tears were pouring out of her blue eyes, down her cheeks. It hasn't been her intention to hit the one person she loved more than anything, but Chloe also couldn't bear to see her drowning in despair. Not accepting the help she was being offered made the punk infuriated.

The freckled girl blinked a few times, in utter confusion. Then she started to understand what her girlfriend meant to say. Until now Max hadn't realized that she wasn't the only one hurting. As a matter of fact, she hadn't even considered how the blue haired girl felt at all.

"I won't fucking back down now! Do you _really_ think I'll let you through this shit alone?" As an answer Max could only shake her head. "See?! Of course I won't! I hella love you after all!" Upon hearing this, the smaller girl immediately started sobbing again. _I love you too. That's why I have to sign the pap-_

"We'll find a way... Together!" Chloe said as she put her hands on the other girl's shoulders. "But you can't just leave me out of this. Maybe you had a good reason to hide your time travel shit, but this time you're not permitted to leave me. Actually you're not permitted to do that ever again!"

"I-I never intended to do that, you dork..."

"You just fucking tried it." Chloe pouted.

"Try putting yourself in my shoes for once, god damn it!" For a moment the smaller girl's voice was full of tenseness, but as quick as it came it disappeared again. Only an absent look and a weak and empty voice were all that remained. "Do you think I want to be like _this_? I can't do anything without some small part of me telling me that I shouldn't do it. I wish I could just lie down with you in my arms, forever. Not needing to decide anything." The smaller girl groaned.

"No you don't. I've been like this for the last 5 fucking years. Blanking out everything that you don't like does _not_ prevent you from pain, trust me."

"But... But I can't... I just can't." Not knowing where to look in her panic, her eye's jumped between the floor and her girlfriends face.

Naturally the punk saw how damaged the freckled girl was and slowly embraced her girlfriend again. This time Max didn't resist it. Feeling two arms around her filled her with warmth. As she buried her face in Chloe's chest, she let out a sigh and closed her eyes. For the moment she needed nothing else but this closeness. The punk whispered, "You're my super Max, but even you can't stomach everything alone, can you?"

"I'm not super... You saw how I begged this asshole to leave us alone. A-and he s-smiled at me, like I... was some insect... I'm pathetic!"

As an answer the bigger girl said through her teeth, "Don't make me punch you again. Cry, scream or hit me if you feel like it, but don't you dare let it out on yourself. I won't allow anybody to touch you. Not even you." The freckled girl was surprised. She didn't expect that the punk would get so mad at her again. But then she just sighed and showed Chloe a small smile.

"But you just did, didn't you?"

"Except me.

"That's unfair." The freckled girl let out a little chuckle.

"Buhhuh. Life is unfair Caulfield. You are all mine. Deal with it."

"Smartass." The freckled girl said as she stuck out her tongue.

"Finally you start talking like the Max I love again!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I hate it when you try to push me away."

"Yea, you certainly do." The brunette said as she rubbed her cheek again. For a moment both girls went quiet.

"S-sorry..." Chloe said in a now saddened voice.

"Don't be. I kinda deserved it. I wasn't listening to you at all."

"Doesn't mean I should have done it thought. I feel like shit now." The punk said with an avoiding look on her face.

"Hey, I thought you're a toughie?" Max said as she gently touched her girlfriend's cheek with one hand. Chloe snuggled against the hand and her eyes found back to Max's again.

Then, with a serious expression the smaller girl said, "There's no way out of this, Che. I have to sign this, or he'll ruin our lives..."

" _Bullshit_ , and you know it. He said it himself, there is some kind of investigation running against him. He can't just do as he pleases right now."

"This gives us time, not a solution."

"Well... that's true... "

Both girls fell silent afterwards. They both knew that helping the Prescotts after all that has happened was the wrong thing to do. "Hella wrong!" And yet it felt like there was no other way out without hurting someone. Chloe didn't want to see Nathan being cleared of all the shit he had done. And Max feared that she would destroy Chloe's and Joyce's life if she didn't sign the paper. For some time Max just lay down on the punk's bed, and tried to think of nothing. Chloe was sitting right next to her.

After some time the bigger girl started scratching her head again, more than anything else she felt like she needed to take a shower. Especially after having a talk with such a disgusting man. The bigger girl felt filthy from hearing his voice. _Also since Max has been in the hospital I pretty much didn't have a chance to take a shower._ But she still didn't leave her girlfriend's side, cuddling and comforting her until all the stress took her into a fast sleep.

After taking a last glimpse at the freckled girl, who looked all helpless as she clinched onto the blanket, the blue haired girl wanted to go to the bathroom, but couldn't find her beanie anywhere. As quietly as possible she searched her whole room: On the table, between some boxes, and even under the bed, but still no beanie in sight. Just before she wanted to go downstairs to see if it was somewhere there, Max rolled from one sight to the other, revealing that she wasn't only hugging the blanket, but her face was also snuggled against the long lost beanie. _Ahh, master has stolen it from us._

Not wanting to take it from her, the punk went into the shower. Finally warm water ran down her whole body, and for some time she was able to truly relaxed. Which was a first this day. This didn't hold for too long thought. _Damn it. Nathan and his father need to be fucking locked away. Alcatraz is calling them. But I can't be mad at Max for wanting to protect me and mom. It's actually hella adorable that she wants to. I bet she actually wants them in chains as much as I do._ As water drops were falling onto her face, it felt like at least now the dirty feeling she got from Sean Prescott was washing off.

As she tried to remember their conversation she actually started laughing. "Haaa, look at my empire. I'll show you the legacy of the Prescott's. Muhahha. Nathan, I am your father." She said while trying to hum the imperial march as she chuckled at herself for a bit. A few moments later she went outside the shower. "Yeah, sure. And you probably sleep in coffins as well don't you? Assholes." She said, still talking to herself.

After putting most of her clothes on she took a look in the mirror and noticed that some of her blue color was coming off. She could actually see some of her old strawberry blonde hair coming out already. "Oh shit!" She said as she went through her wet hair with her fingers. _It's already coming off. Coming off... I washed the dirt away. Wait! That's it! We just need to find dirt that'll prove that those fuckers are hella guilty! If this investigation is over, he won't be able to fuck our lives up, will he?  
_ And with that in her mind new hope started growing inside of the punk.


	12. Great minds think alike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I stated before I'm pretty new to writing stories myself. I'm still somewhat testing things out, looking for a style that fits me. Hope you can bear through that with me :P  
> If there's something you didn't like don't mind letting me know! ^3^

Chloe hasn't been so motivated in a long time. She was still just in her underwear, looking at herself in the bathroom. But now she could see a possible solution for their dilemma. She quickly put on all of her clothes. The punk was so excited that she even forgot to dry herself up. Wearing a grey shirt with an angel winged skeleton and one of her ripped jeans she was standing before the door to her room. She hesitated for a moment. Maybe Max was still asleep? The blue haired girl felt like she should knock, even thought it was her own door she was standing next to. She thought that her girlfriend was still sleeping on the bed, or maybe even awake in a still somewhat depressed mood. The idea that the brunette would not be cheering up after hearing Chloe's plan stopped her for a moment, but then she decided to risk a peek inside, as quietly as possible.

It was already evening and the last reddish rays of the sun were shining through the window. They let the whole room look somewhat surreal. Like it was shrouded in a gentle flame, and amid this fire was a small girl sitting. Legs crossed while still being on the bed, the girl in flames didn't look like she was being sad or feeling guilty anymore. Most of her head was under the beanie Chloe was missing. It was pulled over the brown hair and just ended right over her ocean-blue eyes. Max was biting her underlip, like she always does when she's deep in her thoughts. But unlike Chloe's expectation, her eyes were full of confidence, not pain or regret. It looked like she also had found a way to deal with their dilemma. Seeing her girlfriend like that the blue haired girl felt ecstatic. _She didn't give up yet, did she? Max Everdeen my girl on fire. I was ready to pull you together, but you're strong enough yourself, aren't ya?_ In short, Chloe was speechless after seeing Max like that.

After a few seconds of being starred at, Max quirked an eyebrow. As she waved with her right hand she said, "Che? You alright?"

"Beautiful..." The blue haired girl muttered more to herself than as an answer, but Max's mouth still formed a smile after hearing that.

* * *

The moment Chloe left the room to take a shower Max woke up. She couldn't help but feel uneasy when her bluer half wasn't around. _Get a grip. The week is over. She is safe now. Even Sean Prescott won't just kill someone... or will he?_ She couldn't help it. If she was honest to herself she expected to never truly recover from all the stuff that happened this week. She was always feeling nervous and anxious and it only somewhat improved when she felt her girlfriend being close to her _. Geez, I'm even scared of the dark... I feel like I'm a freaking child again._

Thinking about herself as a child reminded Max for how long she and Chloe knew each other already. Her eyes wandered over to the wall she and Chloe used to keep track of their height. _She wasn't that much bigger when we were younger._ Being thrown back into old memories for a moment the freckled girl started to chuckle, but just a short while later her smile vanished leaving her yet again with the problems of the present. _I'll just sign this piece of crap and... and we can life peacefully again_. A few seconds passed and an annoyed groan, created from her own disbelieve in what she just thought, escaped her lips. _Yeah right... 'Peacefully' with a fucking murderer and his psycho dad both hating me. No. This isn't the solution I want. There gotta be another way..._

The freckled girl sat herself on the bed and started thinking about their options... until the blue haired girl opened the door, and just starred at her.

"Che? You alright?"

"Beautiful..."

"Who could you be talking about?" The smaller girl wanted to tease, but Chloe just shook her head and answered, "You look better now. Something good happened while I was away? I bet you had a dream about me under the shower, perv." Chloe said as she pointed an accusing finger at the brunette. A giggle escaped Max's mouth. Still trying to collect herself, The punk now fully entered the room and sat herself on the chair next to the desk. She was curious about what had cheered up the freckled girl so much. "So?"

"So what?"

"C'mon gurl, if I wait any longer moos'll start to grow on me! You figured something didn't you? Spill the beans already!" A hyped Chloe said.

Seeing her girlfriend being agitated made the freckled girl chuckle again. The punk sighed, but sooner or later started too laugh as well. "You know... You're really beautiful like that."

"I guess the red eyes from all the crying are mostly reason for that, right?" The smaller girl wanted crack a joke, but Chloe stayed serious for once.

"No. I mean that you look now like you're full of hope. I hate to see you feeling down. But after all you never gave up. I don't know what you have in mind right now but I can see that you also thought a way out of this shit, didn't you?"

"Hmm, I need to be more careful. Maybe giving you my diary was a mistake after all? You're starting to read me like a open book." The freckled girl answered playfully. Then she also changed into a more serious mood and continued, "I thought that maybe, if we have enough evidence, we could help the police get Sean Prescott before he can do anything to either of us."

Realizing that both girls had the same idea, the punk started laughing. "You won't believe me, but when I was showering I had exactly the same idea!" Chloe said as she turned her back to the freckled girl and turned on the stereo. Courtney Barnett's History Eraser started to play.

"Really?" Max looked kinda surprised.

"Hey... Even I can have a good ideas once in a while."

"Didn't mean it like that, but... in the other time line you once told me that we could never trust the police."

"Yea that sounds like me. My acab attitude won't change that easily. But now with an investigation running against them, the police'll be more interested in all the shit those Fuckscotts did over the last few years."

"Exactly! Now we only need to dig out their secrets. Full detective mode. Hope you're ready for some all-nighter Watson."

"Of course I'm the butler. Why do you get to be the cool guy?"

"First in time, first in line."

"First in time... really?" Chloe rolled her eyes at pun her girlfriend just made. "But now that I think about it, didn't you and the 'other me' find some dirt in Principal Wells office?" The punk asked while pointing at Max bag, which had the journal inside.

"You're right! We even took the money the Prescotts used to blackmail Wells."

"You guys stole money? Hardcore, even for you Max." But in her mind the blue haired girl still felt a rest jealousy towards the memories she and Max made in the other time line. _Or Max has without me... with me but without me? Ughh!_

"But you're right... I remember there being a ton of e-mails between Principal Wells and Sean Prescott. Maybe we could find something... if we just could get inside again."

"...Ah right! There was an alarm on the door right?"

"Uh-huh, and without using my powers I don't see a way we could get in."

"Dang it!"

The freckled girl started to bit her lip again. In her mind she went back to the day she and Chloe broke into Blackwell for the first time. _Che scared me. "Boo yah, punk ghost"... Keys... The office was locked... We nuked it with the help of Warren... Security alarm went off... Turned back time... Wait!_ "That's it!"

"What?!" The blue haired girl winced in her chair.

"We both may not be able to get inside the office without help."

"Without help? Someone in mind? Please don't tell me it's this wannabe knight Warren."

"I think you know exactly who I'm talking about. Just think about it for a second. Who could be the only one helping us with _security_ alarms?"

The bigger girl tilted her head in confusion for a moment. Eyes wide open, she then realized what Max tried to say. "Nope. That won't work Mad Max."

"Chloe... Without his help we won't be able to set foot into the office."

The punk just shook her head. "This dude is a fucking nazi. He won't break any rules."

"It didn't stop him from breaking into private property last time, did it?" The brunette was wondering why her girlfriend was so against her idea. _You already know that he wants to help. Give yourself a push and accept him for once._

"I-I... think he isn't reliable. What if he freaks and tells everyone about our planes? We can't trust him at all!" Chloe said, her hands fluttering around like she wanted to distract the smaller girl from not having a good reason not to ask David for help.

But instead of trying to convince Chloe the freckled girl just started laughing. "It's adorable how you try to evade David at all cost. I think deep down you've already accepted that he's not so bad as you think he is."

"Eat the bird." An annoyed punk rolled her eyes and gave her girlfriend a certain finger. "You wouldn't like him either if you were in my shoes."

"But I'm not. I'm in the super comfortable sneaker of being right. We gonna ask him for help?"

One last moan came out of Chloe's mouth before she gave up. "If you think that it'll help us..." The blue haired girl was being economical with her excitement, which amused Max.

"C'mon, you can even let me do all the talking. I just need you by my side to cheer me on. Or did you have any idea where to find someone else who could help us?"

"Not with the office, but I had someone else in mind."

"Hmm, who could that be?"

Another annoyed sigh came out of Chloe's mouth."... Damn, I really don't want too do that either... but the one who sold Nathan the drugs was Frank Bowers so maybe he knows something."

As she heard a pictures of the blue haired girl being threatened with a knife flashed towards Max's eyes. She immediately jumped on her feet and said with a strict voice, "You won't meet with someone as dangerous as Frank!"

The sudden outburst surprised the bigger girl. But then she also understood. You _probably worry that he'll use his 'I am a bad boy' knife again. Like he did... with the other Chloe._  
"I could just call him, you know? No need to meet in person."

"... you could, I suppose." The punk saw how the other girl visibly relaxed after realizing that.

"Your overreacting is pretty adorable." Chloe added with a wink. Instead of saying anything back Max just pouted and crossed her arms. "Awww, don't hate me! I'm sorry." The punk said while standing up as well. Now next to each other the two girls glazed into each others faces. The freckled girl narrowed her eyes and wanted to look intimidating as she looked up, but still she couldn't stop her mouth from forming a smile.

"You can't be angry at me Maxie. You couldn't hate puppies either could you? They and me share the same secret. We are cute as hell." The blue haired girl said as she pointed with her thumb at herself. Max just rolled her eyes, while simultaneously letting out a sigh. "Well, let me be frank, between a puppy and you it's pretty obvious who's cuter."

"Me, of course! Right? Who wouldn't choose me." The punk said full of confidence, but the silence of her girlfriend left a sour taste. "Hey Maxaroni... it's me you would choose, right?"  
Slowly the smile the punk had on her face faded away. "You would choose a dog over me?!"

But the smaller girl just shrugged her shoulders. _Let me have some fun with you as well once in a while._ "Who knows?"

"You've gotta be shittin' me!"

The freckled girl let out one last giggle before closing the cap between her and the bigger girl. She whispered "You're far too big." while raising herself on her tiptoes. Her arms slung around the blue hair, she pulled Chloe down into a hoped-for kiss. After a few moments of surprise the blue haired girl started to deepen the kiss and bent over the smaller girl. Leaned back while still reaching up, Max wasn't able to hold the balance for much longer. She let herself fall back onto the bed behind her, and pulled her girlfriend with her. The punk, not wanting to fall on the smaller girl, used her hands to stop her fall. The smaller girl's head was now caged between Chloe's arms. For a short moment both of them just looked at each other and hesitated.

"I knew it would be me."

"Shut up."

The punk slowly lowered her head. Max didn't want to wait any longer for the other girl as well, so she rose her own head to meet her girlfriend in the middle. Euphoria overcame both girls as their lips connected. Max's hands gently went through the cold wet blue hair, and after a while rested in Chloe's neck to pull her down. Drops of water dripped onto the freckled cheeks, but all she could feel was a warmth beaming from the girl on top of her. She wanted to wrap into this comfortable warmth and after some more kissing Chloe also noticed that she was dripping water and asked with a chuckle, "Am I making you wet?"  
But she didn't get exactly the reaction she expected, like a sassy comment or a smile, instead the girl lying underneath her looked kinda shocked. Has the joke really been that bad? But then she noticed that Max's blue eyes weren't looking at her anymore. Her gaze was looking at something behind the punk, and as she turned around to see what had taken the attention from her girlfriend she saw a middle aged women with blond hair, just like her own, standing in the door. Hands in her hips Joyce looked surprised, but also somewhat upset. The music was still playing as loud as ever. Non of the girls had heard Joyce coming before it was to late. _Oh my god, did she hear my wet joke?!_ The punks cheeks went up in flames. She hasn't been that embarrassed in a long time. If there would have been an option to just sink into the earth and never come back, Chloe would have grabbed Max and jumped heads first.

"Uh-oh. T-this i-is uhm..." Was the first thing that escaped Chloe's lips. In an instant she was on her own two feet again. While flapping her hands around she tried to find a somewhat believable lie. Knowing that there was no way out of this her shoulder sunk and with a low voice she said, "... exactly what it looks like."

Joyce's eyes wandered from her daughter down to the girl still lying on the bed. "Max could you give me and my daughter a moment alone?"

The freckled girl looked over to Chloe and saw that the blue haired girl had a look full of worries. She and Max both expected Joyce to take the whole 'dating thing' better. _She can't be serious right now... Maybe it just shocked her? That's understandable but..._ The small girl sat up, took a deep breath and said, "Sorry Joyce, but you gotta understand I'm a part of _us_." She pointed towards herself and Chloe. "If there's a problem with _us_ I have a right to stay here as well." She felt kinda weird, being rude towards the women she had respected like a second mother until now. _Sorry, but I won't let you get between me and my 'price'._ The punk on the other hand formed a _thank you_ with her lips before turning her gaze back to her mother again.

"Mom..." Chloe started rubbing her upper arm with one of her hands, "do you really..."

* * *

Joyce Price always have had a strong bound with her family and after her first husband had died in a car accident she realized that there was just one thing really important for her. She didn't need a perfect family or a lot of money, she just wanted her beloved to be happy. She didn't care about her daughter being rebellious, having blue hair or anything like that. As long as Chloe was able to find happiness in those things her mother was pleased with it. That was of course not always the case, obviously she wasn't feeling that way when her only child dropped out of school. She was a mother after all. But well... that wasn't entirely Chloe's fault. They have had a rough time ever since William had passed away. And while Joyce found someone new, Chloe had no one to really open up too, so Joyce saw it as her responsibility to always be there for her daughter. It didn't matter for what. If she just needed a ear to listen to her rants, cries or just to tell her a bad joke Joyce would be there. She wanted to make her daughter be able to be herself around her. No need to hide herself and her true feelings behind the hard shell she had grown over the last few years. It didn't matter what happened, Joyce would always accept her. To archive that the middle aged women had set one rule for herself and her daughter: Being honest with each other. And most of the times they were. They fought some times, but the reason had never been a lie. Until the first time her daughter had lied to her. Joyce was of course not a fan of her daughter smoking weed, but what really upset her had been the fact that Chloe had gone to great length to hide it from her.

She felt like her daughter didn't trust her anymore.

Then came Max Caulfield. The past week had probably been the best for her daughter since Rachel had gone missing. She saw her child smiling and laughing like she hasn't been in months, and was thankful towards the smaller girl for that. She also noticed the looks they gave each other. She thought it would be better to leave it without any further comment. If that was what Chloe wanted, then she didn't mind.

As she came home this Saturday she heard her daughter's music playing as loud as ever. She didn't even bother to scream upstairs. She brought the left over from Two Whales in the fridge and wanted to let her daughter know that she here earlier then expected.

She knocked at her daughter's door. Once. Twice. The music was not loud enough to overhear the knocking. Weird. Joyce opened the door, curious about what distracted her daughter. And what she found was a punk trying to hide the truth from her. Again.

"Do you really... have a problem with me being like that?" Her daughter asked, her voice full of concern.

"How can you two even think like that of me!" The punk's mother said obviously being offended by the two girls. "Do you two really think I wouldn't love you anymore because you aren't straight? What kind of terrible mother do you think I am?"

"Oh.. Uhm..." The punk scratched her head for a moment. She didn't expected to be scolded like that. In confusion she looked over to Max for help, but she was biting her under lip again and dodging every eye contact. _She probably feels just as shitty as I do right now. How the fuck could I think my mom is homophobic?!_

"You even tried to hide it from me. Did I _ever_ not accept you for what you are?"

Being screamed at like that Chloe felt like she was shrinking with every word being said. It hurt. She and her mother have had their fights, but normally it was because she did something. This was the first time she had really offended her mother like that. She didn't want to cry, so she wished the tears away as soon as they came.  
Joyce sighed after realizing that her daughter was about to sob. It hasn't been her intention to explode like that. "Honey... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you two. I... just... Why do you not trust me anymore darling?"

"I hella love you mom!"

"I know... You just started to... move away from me. Well... I guess that's normal for a girl your age..." And with those words said the mother embraced her sniffing daughter into a tight hug.

Max was moved by the scene that just unfolded before her eyes. _A misunderstood daughter and her lonely mother finally reunited... This would be such a great photo. I wish I didn't have to destroy my camera when I fell unconscious..._ Still lost in thought she didn't notice how the two women next to her started looking over to Max. "What're you doing there?" For a moment Max didn't understood that she was being spoken to. "Huh?"

Joyce waved the freckled girl over. "You're part of this family now. This is your cuddling as well." Chloe and her mother both opened their hug so that Max could join them. This gesture was heartwarming for her. She didn't fully understand why, but as soon as she was being embraced by the two Price women she felt a feeling of coming back home.


	13. How to make a phone call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 50k words already... More than I honestly expected to write. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed this story, really happy to see people enjoy my work! ^^

Chloe's bed was more than big enough for both of the girls, but even with such a big mattress Chloe still managed to cling onto the smaller girl. Of course Max didn't mind that at all, needing the closeness just as much as the bigger girl did. The blue haired head was nestled against the smaller girls chest, more or less lying on one of Max's arms, which was starting to go dead. But the freckled girl ignored the prickling, and just wrapped her free arm around her girlfriend and enjoyed the scent of Chloe's hair shampoo.  
Thanks to feeling and hearing Chloe's breathing, Max noticed how fast the punk fell into a deep sleep. Max being in hospital has left her without much of that, so now knowing that her girlfriend was next to her, holding her, she merely needed seconds before entering the realm of dreams.

The brunette on the other hand, while feeling more than just comfortable, still couldn't manage to stop thinking. _I'm a part of this family now huh... Even thought we tried to apologize, Joyce still looked somewhat hurt. Can't blame her. I really thought there for a moment that she was against us being... in a relationship. Being her girlfriend is still so weird. It shouldn't surprise me thought... it was always Che and me against the world. How could there be anyone else more perfect than her in my life? How could I not see that she's bliss for my soul before ditching her?... I probably never really noticed before coming back to Arcadia, but I bet I had a crush on her when we were still teens. That would explain all the crying I did in my room... alone._

They already talked about a lot of their problems, but the still awake girl knew that just talking wouldn't fix everything on the spot. They would need time. And a lot of cuddling.  
 _Talking is a good first step thought._ This reminded her of what Joyce said after she found them.

* * *

After a few moments the three women let go of each other, and the blue haired girl, still somewhat embarrassed about the whole situation had a somewhat shy smile on her face. _That must have taken a load off her mind._ The freckled girl thought, being more than just happy herself.

Chloe's deep blue eyes shifted back to her mother. This time with more determination in her voice she said, "Mom, I'm sorry if I hurt you. I just... felt betrayed, you know? I know it's childish and unfair of me, but I never wanted anyone else to be together with you than Dad." She then let out a laugh, which had no signs of amusement in it.

"Darling... just know that despite everything with David, I'm always there for you. I can't force you to tell me everything, but don't you try to lie to your own mother again. That's all I want you to do." Joyce said, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Yea... I'll try I promise!" Her daughter said with as much reassurance as she could manage to gather. She understood what her mother was going through thanks to her own stupidity. Thinking about how she acted towards her mother reminded the punk how Max had been a few days ago. _Trying to handle everything by yourself'll just bring pain towards the people who love you. Humans are like a bottle of water, they can just take that much before they explode. Although, a bottle of water wouldn't explode, it would spill over... Hm, maybe not such a good metaphor as I thought it was._ Chloe shook her head. She was getting sleepy. _Sleepy Chloe can't think. Needs bed. Needs freckled dork next to her. Soon._

Right at that moment Joyce said, "Now that all that family drama is out of the way, you can have her all for yourself, Max." which left a smile on the faces of both the girls. As she started moving towards the door, Joyce turned around one last time. Looking at her daughter she said in a rather serious tone, "And keep it in your pants, Honey." Without adding anything further she left the room.  
And with Joyce gone, Chloe's sleepiness was strangely gone as well. Maybe it was because her face was burning up out of embarrassment?

"So she did hear your _I make you wet_ tease." Max noted, trying to hold back a chuckle of her own.

"Oh... Fuck." immediately after saying that she realized how she gave the smaller girl a perfect opportunity for a sassy comment. She quickly added, "Don't do it Caulfield. I can't be judged for what happens when I'm in need for sleep."A few moments passed. The brunette's eyebrows quirked and she opened her impish grinning mouth, but before she could say anything the blue haired girl raised her voice yet again. "Literal sleep. I meant literal sleep! Gosh, looks like I'm not the one mom has to worry about. Just... Stop looking at me like that!"

At first it had been weird for Chloe. Max had changed so much over the time they were apart. She had become so much ... bolder. Which was like the polar opposite of how she was in the past. _Not that I mind. Hell, I love the sassy Max maybe even more! And from time to time a rest of the old shy hippie can still be found in there. She was just as_ _flustered as I was when Joyce saw us after all._

"Look? What look do you mean?"

"I'm a bad influence on you, Caulfield, I can already see it."

"And I'm a _hella_ good one for you!" A sniggering Max added.

"That you are." The punk said while her lips quirked upwards and formed a small smile. Seeing her girlfriend smile at her, the freckled girl's face shyly turned away as a reaction. _And there's the old Max I meant!_ Being reassured like that made the bigger girl chuckle, which left a rather confused expression on Max's face. But before she could ask why Chloe was laughing, the punk asked, "Now you start being shy? Now of all times?"

"I-I'm not shy at all! As far as I can remember you were the one who was flapping her arms around like a maniac when Joyce found us." Still speaking, the smaller girl started imitating her girlfriend and threw her arms around.

"You're going down."

"Keep it in your pants, Price!" The brunette countered with a wink and a sly grin on her face. Not wasting another moment the blue haired girl threw herself at her girlfriend, who was still sitting on the bed. And a tickle battle began.

* * *

The whole evening had been a gigantic boost for Max's confidence. And now sleeping right next to Chloe gave her a feeling of being able to archive everything.  
Also being accepted for what they are felt better than she expected it to be. Somewhere in her mind she already had prepared for the worst case scenario. _You and me on the run. Hmm somehow that doesn't sound too bad. Probably because it includes "you and me"_. _No one'll stand between us. Even if I've got to defeat your 7 evil ex-lovers first._ Max's blue eyes wandered down to the girl in her arms _. A Small mouth. Thin eyebrows. Long legs. A tattoo on her upper arm. And blue hair that is starting to fade. This is my Chloe._ Max let out a faint sigh as she eyed the girl resting in her arms. Everything would be okay. It had to be. She couldn't take much more than she already had. It took her a few more minutes before she slowly followed her girlfriend into sleep.

This time Chloe was the first one to wake up. For a moment she felt disorientated before realizing that she was lying on the floor. Did Max have a nightmare again? Maybe she pushed her off? The punk could remember that she nestled against the smaller girl before falling asleep. While rubbing her only half opened eyes, she sat herself up to be able to see the freckled girl. Chloe needed to contain a chuckle after seeing that the small fragile poor Max had conquered the whole bed for herself. Lying horizontally in the big bed, her head on Chloe's side, she faintly snorted and had a peaceful expression on her face. _It's good to see her being able to rest after all she went through. If anyone deserved a good nap it's her. Apropos, I still should read the rest of her journal... Well, that can wait until we had at least breaky. Hmmm, breaky..._ The blue haired girl felt how her mouth was watering at the mere thought of food.  
 _I don't even need to blaze to be this hungry. Maybe Maxaroni really is a drug, after all?_ Chloe sat herself with her back against the bed, and pulled her stash out from under her bed, for her usual morning doze of happiness. But as she looked down at the rest of her weed, she decide, for what was maybe the first time ever, not to smoke in the morning. She just... didn't feel like doing so right now. Instead she looked out of the window and watched how the clouds moved on their own. A few birds flew by. It was odd. But in a strange way it also relaxed her. A short while later she turned around and lay her chin on the edge of the mattress. Instead of observing the clouds she now started to memorize the different freckles Max had all over her beautiful face. _Like a sky full of stars._ A sigh, full of yearning for the small girl, escaped Chloe's mouth.

A while later she peeked at her smartphone to see that it was already around twelve o'clock. Sleeping through half the day was something, while loving it, she needed to give up sooner or later. She had already made her mind up about her future. She would try to get into college. She needed to be someone who deserved Max. She wasn't questioning her or Max's feelings. Chloe knew very well that they loved each other. But right now she felt like, while being a super cool and hardcore punk, she was lacking of certain... prospects. _No joking, if I don't get my ass up soon I'll have to live the rest of my life here with my mom, while she'll have a bright future as a celebrity-photograph. And I'll just be the girl who drags her down, without any job or education... No. That's not what I want. I want to be a pillar for her like she is for me!_ _Yes, Arcadia college it is!_ The now fully awake girl grinned impishly at the thought of how she would beat the little hipster in all sciences classes. Yet the mere thought of enrolling there made her feel like throwing up already. Still, she had decided, nothing would beat Chloe Price's resolve that easily, not even... school. _Yurk!_ But before letting out the groan that was itching to come out in her throat, she saw the small girl having an eye open, which was observing the punk.

Seeing the small girl now slowly wake up, forced Chloe's lips to quirk upwards. For a few minutes both of them didn't have any urge to move at all. The punk's head still resting on the edge of the bed, and Max still snuggled up against her blanket, they just gazed upon each other. A weak ray of sunlight beamed through the window, and traveled through the whole room before ending at the wall on the other side. There were still a few birds singing outside. _Dude, this is like a moment full of magic! Everything is just so perfect and.. and golden._ The punk realized.

Right then the freckled girl let out an "uhhhrrggg" as she started to stretch herself. _Well... or not. Max is better than magic anyways._

"Good morning." A freckled girl with hair all over her face mumbled.

A few bowls of cornflakes later both of the girls were sitting in the kitchen. Joyce was already off to work and David had some kind of meeting with the other guardsman, so the two girls could plan the next few steps without being to careful about other people hearing them.

"Okay. What do we want to tackle first? David or Frank?"

"Hmm, to be honest I don't want my mother come to know that we're hunting an unstable multimillionaire."

"So better catch David when he's alone then? In school we probably won't have the privacy to talk under six eyes with him, so if we've got the option to talk to him here..." Max looked at the the blue haired girl with an quizzical expression.

"If I'm correct Wednesday should be perfect. He normally arrives about 2-3 hours before mom does."

"Perfect! But Wednesday is in three days... So Frank first?"

"Yea... hurray..."

"C'mom, Che... You know we've got no other chance."

"Yea, yea, I know. We gonna call him right now?"

"Right now!?" Max asked surprised.

"The faster the better, or is there a reason not to?"

"No... you're probably right, it just feels... I don't know. Rushed?"

As Max spoke the punk noticed in what kind of state the freckled girl was right now. _Every time I involve myself with Frank, Chloe gets in danger... C-calm down damn it. We'll just talk on the phone. There's no way he can try to stab us..._ Then an image of him being seriously injured in Two Whales popped into Max's head. _He still didn't deserve to be injured like that... just because... I wasn't able to save him the first time..._ Sweat started forming on her forehead. Her face grew pale. She was chewing her underlip, and also her hands were shaking.

Chloe didn't wait a moment to grab Max's hands and intertwined her fingers with her own. Looking at the tangle of fingers the blue haired girl quietly whispered, "I'm here."

Those words brought the small girl back into the present. _S_ taring at the brunettes blue eyes, Chloe started to worry about the smaller girl. _She does this ever so often..._ "Getting lost in decisions of the past and the consequences of the future. You tend to forget that the most crucial part is the present, Max Caulfield. But well... Unlike you, I was always the impulsive one, wasn't I? Not caring about what kind of _consequences_ my actions cause..."

"We're both messed up aren't we?" Max mumbled with a voice which nearly broke the punk's heart.

"Maybe..." She wasn't really able to beat around the bush. Yes, both of them had their problems, but didn't her girlfriend miss something vital here? "Maybe we do have our... issues, but you know what's even more important?"

"Hmhm.." A denying tone came out of the smaller girl's mouth.

"We've got us! I got you to point a finger at the possible effects my actions may cause, and you got me to pull you back into the present. We're like a gayer version of Yin and Yang."

A moment of silence. Then a smile crawled onto the freckled face. She took Chloe's hand and snuggled it against her cheek. Now with a firmer voice she answered, "You know, you really had a chance there. The mood was just right for a perfec romantic speech... The last part kinda destroyed that."

"I'm not supposed to be the mushy one in this relationship. Chloe Price means hardcore body plus nerves of steel!"

"Uh-huh. Sure. And Chloe...

"Yes?"

"...Thank you." Max gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on one of her cheeks.

"It's always a pleasure to be of assistance, m'lady." The blue haired girl said as she bowed down.

A giggle escaped Max's lips as shook her head. "Dork."

"We'll wait with Frank. It's fine, we got more than enough time... Even without your powers. And just remember, he won't be able to touch us through the phone. He ain't Freddy Krueger just yet."

"Ahh yes, I can still remember the first time we watched nightmare on Elm street."

"You mean forced to watch? Yes, much fun."

"I know, right? Nightmare on Elms street is hilarious!"

"Psycho."

"Tzzhh, philistine!"

"Wait! I do like art..."

"You do? Sorry but I can't imagine you being in the Louvre, enjoying the Mona Lisa."

"Okay, maybe I don't like boring paintings from some old dudes. But I enjoy cool drawings. Like my tat for example." Chloe said as she pulled her sleeve up, as if the freckled girl had never seen the tattoo.

"Hmpf, I've to admit, it's an amazing tattoo you have. By the way, who was the one who came up with the sketch?" The brunette asked as her fingers went over the tattoo.

"You're trying to offend me?"

"No way, you did that by yourself?"

"Well thanks..." The punk tried to look offended, but she couldn't help but be happy about the fact that there was something her girlfriend didn't knew about her. _Something other-Chloe didn't tell her..._

"I-I just mean, it's good. Like _really_ good!"

"I know." The blue haired girl said with a smug smile on her face, and couldn't blame Max for playfully punching her on the shoulder.

"One day I'll make you a hella amazing tattoo as well."

"Uhm... I'm still not sure about that, Che."

"Thought so. But I hope you didn't forgot the promise you made with me, to color your hair."

Of course she remembered her promise. The punk would make sure of that. "Maybe just some strands?"

"Red."

"Red?"

"Dude, if you would have red hair, it would create such an awesome contrast to mine! Just imagine, mine and your hair intertwined. That would look so fucking cool!" Chloe was hyped. The at-least-for-now-brunette knew, there was no option to withdraw from this. "You sure red is the right color, thought? Wouldn't it look... kinda stupid?"

"Ha, getting cold feet now? Scarefield."

"How did we even end up talking about my hair color? Didn't we want to call Frank?"

"Now? You sure?" Chloe's blue eyes were changed from a playful look into one full of worry for Max.

The question created a short pause, but then the small girl said, "Yes. The faster this is over the faster we can have the luxury of talking about how I'll dye my hair."

"Okay. Good." Without further ado the punk took out her phone, and let it call Frank's number. Chloe lay it between her and the smaller girl so that both girls could hear the conversation through the loudspeaker.

Nothing... until the voicemail started playing. Both girls visibly relaxed after Chloe canceled the call. "He's not answering the phone. That's strange."

"You know what that means, Che..." The brunette said with a nearly not audible voice. "We'll need to find him. Meet him in person."

"You really don't want that, do you? I know that it might be hella insensitive to ask this, but what happened last time you met him?"

The freckled girl needed to swallow before she could answer. "He... was at the beach in his trailer, and as we both approached him to get some information. Things... escalated."

"Don't tell me the bastard hurt y-"

" _You_ shot him, Chloe!"

"Oh."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> Hope you're all still enjoying this story :3


	14. Shattered

Should she feel guilty? Frank's blood wasn't on her own hands. In fact he wasn't even dead. But did that make her innocent? After Max had told her how Frank threatened the small girl with a knife, she was pretty sure that she would pull the trigger. But still... She didn't. Not in this present at least. _The other Chloe did it. Not me! This sounds as stupid as I feel right now._ But the feeling of guilt wouldn't just vanish like that.

"It never happened, and yet you feel like shit, right?" Max said, observing her confused girlfriend.

"I-I... I don't know how I should feel to be honest."

A sad smile formed on Max's lips. _Yea... she can relate to that more than I can imagine. And she has felt like that god knows how many times just in the last fucking week? Not even counting what happened before she came back to the bathroom._ The punk thought.

"Max, can I read the rest of the journal? Let's not delay that shit any longer."

The freckled girl nodded and pulled her journal out of her bag. "Let's move to the sofa at least. We don't need to stand in the kitchen all day do we?"

"Y-yea. Right!"

As the two girls cuddled next to each other on the couch, they started reading where Chloe had stopped last time they were interrupted, while Max added a lot of extra information, she didn't write down.

 _Let's see... Ah, that's where I was. We went to check on Kate in the hospital._ "Poor Kate, she seems really nice. She didn't deserve being bullied like that. Good thing you saved her that time."

"Yea... It was close thought. Too close."

"Not, it wasn't Maxie. She was still alive. You're either alive or you aren't. There's no in between. There's no close. You saved a person's life! Other-me must've been kinda jealous seeing you care like that for someone else. A girl in particular."

"Wait. Are _you_ jealous?"

A flustered Chloe pulled out her tongue before starting to read again.

A few moments later Chloe suddenly screamed, "I flirted with Jefferson!?" A shiver ran down her whole body as she imagined herself in this situation. _This is a disgusting joke. If something like destiny or god exists it must really hate me to the core. Not just dying all the time but to even talk with one of Rachel's murderers..._ She felt how an arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her in. Chloe gratefully shoveled her face into Max's t-shirt. Now she could feel that the small girl in her arms was trembling as well. They needed a few moments before both of them could calm down. The petting Chloe could feel on her back helped immensely. _Okay, c'mon big girl, let's continue already! Max has it even worse than you, so get your shit together!_ She forced her eyes to stare at the paper again. But then Max started talking about how Justin was flirting with Chloe as soon as he saw her. Max _thought that me and Justin... that's hilarious. She probably wants to distract me from the... Urgh... flirt withe Jefferfuck._ The punk started crackling up. "There's no way me and Justin would ever have _anything_."

"Maybe you don't think so, but I'm pretty sure he does."

"Wait. Are _you_ jealous?" With a sassy voice and an impish smile, the blue haired girl imitated her girlfriend.

"Yes." A straight answer. Chloe could feel of blood rushed in her cheeks. _There's the bold Max again._ Yet her smile didn't falter at all.

"Why can't I then be jealous of you and Kate?" But as she saw how Max's eyes suddenly saddened, she quickly added. "Never mind. Stupid of me to make a joke, sorry." _Justin didn't try to fucking kill himself, I'm such an idiot..._

"It's fine. Maybe... maybe we shouldn't be in a good mood while reading this." As an answer Chloe just nodded.

She then read how Max turned back time to save Frank's life and what she found inside Nathan's room. Chloe could feel the hairs on her neck starting to go up. She could still remember the feeling of waking up inside this room, disorientated and helpless. Chloe felt like punching something. Or rather someone.  
Max was playing with the punk's hand which didn't hold the journey, probably to distract herself from all the dark memories rushing through her head right now. And just moments later Chloe wasn't angry anymore either. Rather than feeling anger she was shocked how brave Warren could be. "Poor Warren, he came to save his princess."

"But I'm already in another castle, right?" Both of the girls chuckled at the Super Mario reference.

"He seems like an okay guy to be fair. But still, your ass is mine, Caulfield."

"Wouldn't want it any other way, Price."

About 10 minutes later the goofy atmosphere was completely gone again. They found Rachel's body. Somewhere Chloe still hoped that she wasn't dead. That she would just knock on the door with a smile on her face. _"Surprise, I'm back!"_ How often she had wished for those words. The punk couldn't stop the tears. She missed her even now. Not because she still loved her, but she rather missed her as a good friend.

"You and her would've liked each other. But to be honest I still can't forgive her that she didn't tell me about Frank..."

"You must feel..."

"Used."

"I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. I'm not either. I'm hella pissed! How could she..." She paused and rubbed her teary eyes before saying, "I wish you two would've met. She would've loved you. Me and her probably would have fought over you." The freckled girl slightly blushed, which amused Chloe as she continued, "I may have crushed on her, but you're something else entirely, Maximus. I can't even be angry at you. Trust me, I wanted to hate you when you left for Seattle, but in the end I only missed you even more than I did already." She playfully drew circels with her finger on Max's under arm, and then suddenly looked like she herself just realized what she had said. "Oh, fuck. I didn't mean to compare you to her. That was fucked up. What the hell..."

For a moment the brunette was surprised as well, but then she just said "It's fine, it really is." This was no time to be jealous of a dead girl. _There shouldn't ever be such a time._ Max thought. She then remembered that the punk had mentioned the five years she wasn't here. "I know that this won't count as a apology, but I honestly cried countless times because I missed you when I was in Seattle..." Max tried to flash a smile but only managed to look even sadder than before.

"Every time I think you can't get any cuter... You are full of surprises, Max Caulfield." Chloe giggled as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you." Hearing the obvious still made Max blush. She then shyly mumbled a "I love you too."

Chloe managed a smile, before turning her attention back at the story Max was telling her.

"So we were looking for Nathan at the party?"

"You wanted to kill him."

"Nathan?" The freckled girl just nodded.

"Hell, I still do to be honest. I would probably have acted the exact same way like _she_ did." The freckled girl let out a sigh as if she was tired of Chloe distancing herself, from the 'Other-Chloe.'

"Because _she_ is _you_ , Che..."

"I guess so?" The punk wasn't so sure anymore about those things. She already had imagined how she would've acted and it frightened her how much the 'Other-her' resembled the punk. _Maybe Max is right? Maybe I'm really her? Just without all those memories... Urgh I just don't know anymore..._ "Time travel is confusing as fuck!"

"Yea, well, I could sing a song about that... But I think it's good that you wasn't around when the police found Rachel's body, this time. I know that sounds somewhat harsh, but last time... it destroyed you."

"What do you expect? She was my best friend even..." The blue haired girl couldn't finish her sentence thanks to a sob building up. "... You are probably right. Still, there'll be a funeral."

"And we'll be there. Grieving a lost friend is the right thing to do. But you were out of control on that night."

"I can already guess where this is going. I did something hella stupid again, right? Did we find Nathan? Did I really try to hurt him?"

Right at this moment Max realized that she was about to explain Chloe what happened in the dark room. In the darkness. The junkyard. Stings. Chains. Stings again.

Chloe witnessed how the blue eyes of her girlfriend sank into a depth, beyond sadness, beyond anger and beyond anxiety. No tears, no smile. _"Oh, Max! You fucked up my shot!"_  
An expression of nothingness. She just stared through the room. If she didn't blink and breathe one could think she was nothing more than a puppet, because she didn't move any muscle at all. She couldn't. She wasn't allowed to. _"Don't move!"_ She was enchained, pinned onto the chair she was sitting on.

_"But please don't worry, we have all the time in the world. For now."_

_Where's Chloe?_

_"Yeah, I'm sorry that I killed- that Nathan killed her in self-defense. But she had a troubled history like most Arcadia Bay drop-outs."_

_Oh, right. Chloe's dead. Soon I'll be too. Then the storm'll tear everyone else in little pieces._

The punk was overwhelmed. She could deal with screaming around, tears or anxiety. But Max wasn't showing any reaction at all. The punk called out for her, now fully in tears. But the blue eyes didn't move an inch. _"Ah much better, thanks Max."_

_If I make him angry he'll hurt me or use one of the syringe again._

_"I knew you were special the second I saw your selfie. Yes I still hate that word. But I love the purity of your own image."_

_Soon I'll be together with Chloe and Rachel. Just wait a little more. It'll be fine... Sorry mom... Sorry dad... Sorry Arcadia Bay..._

The bigger girl grabbed Max arm in panic. While shaking her, the punk repeated her name over and over again, until she saw how the blue eyes started looking back at her.

As she saw the terrified face of a sobbing punk, the brunette tilted her head a bit and asked with a small chuckle in her voice, "Chloe? What are you doing?"

"Y-you j-just... disappeared... W-went inside o-of some hella fucked u-up memory o-of..." The punk was horrified. _What did just happen? Max, you can't leave me like that!_

"What are you talking about? I'm rig-" Before Max could even finish the sentence she started to vomit. On the sofa, the floor and herself. She just continued emptying herself. At some point there was no more content in her stomach so the only things that would be thrown up were water and stomach acid. Tears were falling. Her nose was runny. Her throat hurt, but she couldn't stop coughing.

The bigger girl, still in shock, was right next to her girlfriend. Chloe was trying to help as much as possible, with one hand holding the brown hair back and the other stroking over Max's back in a circular motion. "Shhh. Let it out Super Max. It's fine. Don't worry about making anything dirty. Just get it out." The punk whispered with a still shaky voice.

Still coughing, the freckled girl tried to stammer a sentence. "Y-you! I... I was there, Che... He made photos of m-me." Another torrent of water. "He injected some fucked up drug in me. I-I c-couldn't even use my fucking s-super powers."

"We are in my house. You're not there any longer. You're- We're safe."

It took her some more seconds before she answered with a simple "Hmhm."

"There's no need to tell me Max if it'll hurt you like this. I don't wan-"

"I don't have a fucking choice!" The brunette screamed. Chloe winced at the loud voice. "I've been damming up all of this f-fucking... fuck!" She yelled, being at a loose of words. "It'll fucking kill me if I d-don't!" Her fist crashed in the pillow next to her.

Chloe had never heard so many swears coming from Max. _Did she really drag so much despair with her the whole time?_ Chloe just realized how naive she had been the whole week.

"I never had a choice..." The brunette continued with a voice nothing more than a whisper, "You life, my life, Joyce's life, every-fucking-else lives. What should I do? Choices? Ha! I had all the t-time in the fucking world, Che, but the more I think about it the more I realize how free will is a fucking sick joke!"

The blue haired girl was holding Max's hand, softly rubbing over it with her thumb, while she waited for the broken girl to continue.

"H-he took photos of m-me. Would h-have... killed me if not for David!" Chloe still listening, tried to make sense to all of that. _David? He saved my girl?_

"Sometimes... I-I was chained on a chair... then I was lying on the floor. His face always close above mine. S-smiling..." Sitting close to Max despite all the puke, which Chloe didn't care about at that time, she tried to calm herself. Furious wouldn't even begin to describe what the punk was feeling right now. She knew she needed to be there for Max, but hearing what happened, that he nearly took Max from her as well, she now fully understood how the other Chloe must've felt when they found Rachel. Chloe wanted to kill Jefferson. Not in a figure of speech. She wanted to see a bullet in his head. _No one'll ever touch you again, babe._ The punk silently promised, tears of anger all over her face. Her teethe were grinding against each other, and she needed a moment before being able to relax her jaw muscles enough to be able to speak. Drawing the air in and out sharply Chloe knew that this was the most insensitive question to ask right now, but she needed to know it non the less. "Did he..."

"I...I don't know." Another shiver ran through the small body. Max's arms slung around herself, but at the same time felt disgusted by herself. "I don't know." She repeated and heavily shook her head. She didn't stop shaking it, until the blue haired girl grabbed the head with both of her hands. Blue eyes locked into each other, Chloe gave the small girl a mother like kiss on the forehead. "It doesn't matter."

As the freckled girl tried to turn her face away, the punk softly grabbed her chin with one of her hands to pull it back. "Listen to me. It doesn't matter anymore! He can't reach you, me or any other girl anymore. And nobody else'll be able to do so either, because I'll be there. Max do you hear me?" She needed a reaction from her girlfriend. "Hmhmm... We are safe here. Both of us and also the city, right?"

"Yes. No one'll die, or even get hurt because of you. You're one of the kindest human beings I've _ever_ seen, Max Caulfield. It doesn't matter what happens, I'll stick with you until the very end... You're not alone... Okay?"

An "Okay.", which was nothing more than a whisper could be heard by the blue haired girl.

"Good. Now we're gonna take a shower."

"Huh?"

"Don't 'Huh' me after you vomited all over me. We're gonna take a shower. _Now_."

* * *

Before she even realized what was going on Max was already naked. Both the girls were sitting in on the floor of the bathtub, Chloe holding Max from behind. She was of course embarrassed to show her body just like that to her girlfriend, but feeling the water and Chloe's body heat on her back relaxed her non the less. Despite seeing each other naked for the first time, both of them weren't in a particular erotic mood at all. Under the streams of water the two girls could cry without someone else seeing their tears, as they were washed away instantly. Knowing that, Max still took more than one or two glimpses to inspect the punk's naked body. It was a great distraction after all. As she felt two hands rubbing shampoo in her brown hair she laid back and nestled herself even more against the blue haired girl and let out a quiet moan.

"You can count yourself lucky it didn't get in your hair."

"Yea... thank you."

"There was this one time I was wasted-"

"This _One_ time?"

"Shut up, kiddo. Let big Chloe tell a story. Story time means hushing your mouth."

"Aye, Aye!"

"There was this one time I was wasted on one of those school parties. There was this one guy, don't even know what his fucking name was. He had his eyes on me-"

"Can't blame him."

"Do you want to hear the story or not, brat!" Chloe said as if she was pouting, but both girls knew that in reality she was relieved that Max was talking like her old self again. Which wasn't hard to figure, thanks to the smile Chloe had from ear to ear.

"Where was I? Ahh, right! His eyes on me. I was hella wasted, and he thought that I was easy prey. He started small talking with me, but soon realized that this wouldn't get him anywhere, soooo he thought the direct way would probably be more effective. He tried to kiss me."

"And you puked all over him?" The freckled girl figured.

"Naaa, I punched him in the face and he started to cry."

"Wha...? What has that to do with puke in the hair?"

"Nothing much, really."

"You're such a dork, Che." The blue haired girl could feel how the small girl in her arms started to laugh. She pressed her cheek against one of Max's shoulder blades and indulged in the tremble that was created from the chuckling. She then laid her chin on Max's shoulder and whispered, "I won't punch you if you would try, thought."

With one eyebrow quirked Max then said, "That's reassuring. Thanks for letting me know that I was in potential danger when I kissed you all those times."

"Ass." The punk rolled her blue eyes on Max's answer, which created another, in Chloe's opinion, beautiful laughter.

At first the freckled girl had thought Chloe's idea was crazy, but the shared shower had been pure comfort for her soul. As the punk turned the water off and started to dry the brown hair of her girlfriend, she started to hum _'Stay alive'_ from José González. Now both of them were just standing next to each other. Naked. Not being distracted by reminiscences, Max fully gasped the situation she was in and her face went dark red. Without realizing it herself, she made a step back and tried to hide herself a bit, from the look of her girlfriend.

"Feeling shy? That's hella typical for you. But be at ease, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Pretty much the opposite if you ask me." Chloe judged, not even making the effort to hide the fact that her blue eyes were wandering all over the freckled girl's body.

"Chloe!" Max yelled as she grabbed a towel. But she couldn't deny that her eyes were also drawn towards the punk's naked body. It felt like this was the first time the freckled girl had realized that Chloe's body was now grown up. Boobs, bigger than her own, long slender legs and emphasized hips. _Oh god, I'm starring again._ The small girl thought while biting her lips. _Wowser... Most pleasing yet awkward situation ever!_

Despite feeling an urge to eat the hippie standing next to her, Chloe tried to show as much self control as possible. _This isn't the time for it!_ She criticize herself, but as soon as the freckled girl turned around for a moment her blue eyes wandered down again. _Just put on your clothes already, god damn_ it! She then turned around as well to not be distracted by the brunette.

Now back to back both girls hurried up, despite feeling a desire to just turn around and go a step further. Sooner or later both had clean clothes on. Seeing Max in a way to big t-shirt the punk had lent her was making her nearly jump at her girlfriend again. But as they went downstairs again where they found a pool of sick in the living room, which both of them had forgotten for obvious reasons, and Chloe's desires just vanished.

"Urgh!" Chloe moaned knowing what would come next. Cleaning their mess.


	15. The Past, The Present and Me

It wasn't as bad as Chloe was making it out to be. But teasing Max was one of the best things she could do right now to provide some kind of distraction. _I also feel hella guilty... I'm the one who forced her to tell me all of this. I made her feel_ _obliged_ _to tell me what happened... I'm the one who hit her... But having such a nightmarish flashback... I thought this could only happen in movies. Fuck, I wish it would only happen in those!_

"Yurk! What the hell did you eat, Throwfield?" Despite all the things flying through the blue haired head, she still wanted to make her girlfriend smile. Now more than ever.

"Pretty much the same you did, Miss I-like-to-call-my-girlfriend-weird-names."

"I bet my puke wouldn't be this nasty."

"What? You want a vomit-contest, now?"

"You don't trust me? I dare you!"

"What?"

"I double dare you."

It took her a moment before Max realized that Chloe was hinting at the dare-kiss, which the punk of course now didn't remember. "Urgh! Thanks for destroying one of my favorite memories..."

"So instead of having a good memory for yourself, we'll now both have one together, right?" Chloe asked with an impish grin. As the brunette understood that she played right into the bigger girl she blushed, but still narrowed her eyes and gazed at her.

"Well played, Price. This time." Before she could add anything further, the blue haired girl grabbed Max's face and gave her a long kiss. Broke it, drew her breath and crashed her lips against the smaller girl's once more. Max was still chewing on the punk's lips for a bit, but Chloe felt like her mission had been accomplished. The hippie wasn't pouting anymore, instead the brunette looked flustered, with her cheeks all red. "Wowser..."

A maliciously grin grew on Chloe's face as she then explained, "Now every time you'll think of the dare-kiss, you'll think of the vomit contest and thus will be remembered of me giving you a even better kiss than the other one was."

The freckled girl sighed. She knew when she had lost. "You're a dork. A pretty cute one thought. Now shush! We still need to clean up my mess."

"Hmm, I like it when you get bossy."

"Geez, you love giving me a hard time, don't you?"

"Oh, yes! Absolutely." Chloe said, while chuckling as she gave the smaller girl a kiss on the forehead.

After a few minutes of _urghs_ , _yurks_ and _yikes_ most of the living room was cleaned, their clothes and the pillows were in the washing machine and the two girls finally could settle down in the kitchen. The bigger girl couldn't let Max out of her eyes. She always heard of how stimulating it could be to see his or her girlfriend wearing the clothes of their partners. Now she fully understood how true that statement was. The light blue t-shirt ended close above the freckled girl's knees. It was nearly like a dress. She wore one of Chloe's classic torn up jeans which revealed some unexpected skin. That only added to the brunette's charm. Now that they had fully seen each other naked, the punk thought seeing only a bit more skin than usual wouldn't have that kind of attracting affect on her. But it did. She felt like she could start to drool every moment. _A half punk half hipster Max... Now she only needs red hair. Yes. Aside from everything with Sean Prescott we still should have time for a simple hair dyeing. She needs to have some fun, now more than ever._

"I'm going back to Blackwell."

"Huh?"

"I've missed too many classes already. If I don't catch up I'll fall behind." The geek shrugged.

"The fuck? You just now had your freaking trauma hit in. I really can't stand the idea of you going to Blackwell. It'll just put more stress on you... Are you sure you're gonna be okay without me?" Chloe knew forcing her girlfriend wouldn't bring her anywhere. _Not like last time._

"I... I don't know. But I miss my friends to be honest. And it's not like you won't be around me as much as you can, right?"

"You bet I will! You'll message me any time I can come over. No wait! You'll message me every time. Even if it's just a 'still alive and kicking' to put me at ease."

The brunette started to snicker. "Che, I won't go into a War zone."

"As much as I love the smell of napalm in the morning, I don't want Charlie to catch you, okay?"

"You've got problems with horror, but you actually quote 'Apocalypse now'? That movie is truly terrifying!"

"What? The movie is great! Who's the philistine, now?"

"Dork!"

"Hippie!"

"Still better than being a punk."

"Said the mother hipster to her little hipster children."

"Ahh, and you... you're blue!"

"Really? That's all you got? Blue?... Don't worry, Max, I'll love you, even with all your flaws."

A pouting Max let a _hmpf_ came out through her nose before she turned her back towards the bigger girl, just to be embraced from behind. Two long arms slung around her, and Chloe's head nestled against her neck. "I already miss you."

Feeling the breath on her ears as the punk whispered a sheepishly grin formed on Max's face. She then quirked her head so that she could give the bigger girl a quick kiss on the nose bridge. But then she freed herself from the arms around her. "You know, I've to go back eventually. Even if we would wait for one or two more weeks."

"Yea... Yea, I know. Still sucks. You were pretty much always around the past week. Best. Week. Ever..." The blue haired girl said with a sad tone in her voice. _Aside from hitting you..._

The freckled girl let out a sigh, and then shook her head. "You're being mushy right now, you know that?"

The punk immediately straightened her back. "No mush here, sir! I mean madam!"

"All jokes aside for a moment," Max face got more serious now, "Maybe I can find out where Frank is right now. I could ask Justin or Trevor. Frank's pretty much the only one who could provide them with their drugs, right?"

The punk nodded. "The only one I know of at least. Max, don't do anything reckless. That's my job." Chloe's eyes were full of worry. _She really hates that I'm leaving, doesn't she? Can't blame her, but there's little choice, as always. I also shouldn't_ _exploit the offer Mr. Wells made more than necessary._ "Yea, I know..." The brunette smiled, face turned towards the floor. "I'll be careful, I promise! Also, I don't need to rush back right now. We can still chill some more." Then with a somewhat sour voice she added, "And I also need to tell you the rest of my story."

"You don't need to. You can, but only if you feel one hundred percent ready, okay?"

"No. This needs to end now. You need to fully understand everything. No more hide and seek."

As Max started to describe reality being nearly completely destroyed by a small and fragile high-school girl, Chloe's mouth dropped open. And when she saw Max body starting to shake again, the punk grabbed her hands and started to caress them. _Last time I overreacted, but this time I'll comfort you, not hurt you!_

"It was like the nightmare just wouldn't end anymore, Chloe... and when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I was back on this god damn cliff."

"At the lighthouse?"

"Hmhm. You were there with me. Only you, me and a storm killing nearly everyone in the town."

"And then you went back and saved all of us, right?"

"No. You saved everyone."

"Me? Sorry, but that sounds very out of character for me." Chloe said with a sour laugh in her voice.

"I don't understand how all of this reality-time travel-stuff works, but you told me that you needed to d-die in the bathroom for the storm to not be created. T-The reason for the storm... was you." A few tears ran down the freckled cheeks, and the punk gently brushed them away. Max was confused with how well her girlfriend was taking all of this. "Chloe, you told me to let you die! To save everyone and sacrifice you!"

A sad smile on her lips, Chloe answered with a simple, "I get it now." Upon hearing those words Max started to sob even more. She just sat there sacking into herself and sobbed, until Chloe was suddenly next to her and embraced her. The blue haired girl gave her girlfriends a soft and comforting kiss on the forehead. "You felt guilty."

"I would've killed all of them for you. _All_ of them." The punk was overwhelmed as she saw just how strong Max's love for her truly was. Yet she didn't stop comforting the broken girl in her arms. Not even for a second. "If you wouldn't have t-told me to... to go back, I wouldn't have done it."

"But you did, and even saved me on the way. You did everything right."

"B-But I-"

"It's not important anymore! I know that look on your face, Maxaroni. I've thought like that for years. I shouldn't have let him go in the car, should've gone with him, should have...should have... should have!" The punk shook her head and Max sobbed. "If we can't accept that the past is unchangeable we can't start living in the present!"

"But I could..."

"You said it yourself! There was never a real choice! Maybe it's fate, or god or something fucking else, but _it_ was never meant for you to control this. Sounds much more like _it_ tried to control you to correct the mistake _it_ made _itself_." Chloe didn't knew if what she just said made any sense at all, but saw that Max was relaxing, so she didn't care either ways.

"You were never meant to go into the bathroom?" _Maybe that's what the weird Tobanga tried to tell me? I've still no clue why any of this happened. But I can't wast my energy on that now. First comes Sean Prescott, then the mystic stuff._

"Looks like it, doesn't it? No world-ending-storm, and I'm alive and kicking!" The punk said as she ruffled through the brunette's hair.

"That you are." Max said, still under tears, but with a small smile on her lips. Then she suddenly started to sob again, and Chloe thought for a moment she did something wrong. But then the freckled girl burrowed her face into the punk's shirt and whispered, "I need you so much, Chloe. Doggone it, never leave me!" And as she felt two arms pulling her even more into the hug, she knew her begging had been heard.

"Dude, you would've destroyed a whole city for me. Can you imagine a girlfriend more awesome than that? I can't." As the punk was talking, Max felt a few drops of water falling on top of her head and knew that the punk started to cry as well, but as she wanted to look her into the face she felt how the bigger girl tightened the hug. "Don't look up! I look hella soft right now."

"Dork!" The small girl chuckled and did Chloe the favor.

The two girls didn't do much for the rest of this chaotic Sunday. They watched some B-movies and cuddled with each other. But the truth was that none of them really had much energy left to do anything other than lying on each others lap and feed each other some chips. At some point, Max wanted to give her girlfriend another potato chip, Chloe caught her hand and started licking the brunettes fingers clean. At first the small girl wanted to pull her hand away, but she realized relatively quick that her girlfriends tongue wasn't as nasty as she fist thought. She started to enjoy the feeling of hundreds of small kisses on her hand, but at the same time wanted to switch the hand with her own mouth, which she did eventually. Nibbling at each others lips none of the girls realized when Buds Spencer and Terence Hill fought their way through a bunch of wannabe cowboys in "They Call Me Trinity".

But at some point, as much as she hated to, Max moved her lips a few inches away, her blue eyes still focused on the girl she as lying on. She gave the punk one last kiss on the nose and then got up from the sofa. "It's already late, Che."

Still a bit dazzled thanks to all the petting the bigger girl needed a moment to wipe her big smile away. "Y-yea. At least you kiss like you're okay. But to be sure maybe I should just test it one more time?" The bigger girl said with a smile on her face, still she missed the weight of the small girl on top of her.

Before their lips touched once more the freckled girl let a "Dork." escape her smiling mouth. _Right then when I need her, she acts like the sweetest person on earth. She knows me too well, doesn't she?_

A few kisses later they sat in the old truck. Chloe didn't want to, but she was pouting. Every question Max asked was answered with a short answer. "Yes. No. Hmhm." It didn't annoy Max thought. Sh _e is probably angry because she wants to spend more time with me. That's actually incredibly adorable_. The blue haired girl always drove with one hand, so that Max could grab the free hand. After a few moments the freckled girl got, which relieved her, a reassuring squeeze, and a small smile popped up on the punk's face as well. _As sweet as sugar. We could use more of the softcore Chloe._

"We're nearly there."

"Che, I'll just be pretty much around the corner. You make it sound like I would go back to Seattle."

"It's nearly as bad, though. I won't see you for what? A whole day? Maybe even two?"

Max started to giggle. "Why shouldn't we see each other?"

"Because!..." There was a long pause before the punk finished her argument. "Y-you probably want to spent some quality time with your friends. Make sure they're okay and stuff."

"And you can't be there with us?"

Another moment of silence. Her eyes were jumping from the street, to the window, to Max and back to the street. _Is she being nervous?_ "I-I guess I can."

"What's on your mind? You're acting strange."

"Well, it's just that we're together now and..."

"You're not seriously scared I may cheat on you, are you?"

"What? No! There's only one irresistible punk in Arcadia Bay, I know that, trust me... Did you think about talking to your friends? I mean about us?"

"Can't get much worse than with your mom, can it? If I do tell them, you'll be there, promise. Also just a little reminder, Kate knows already that we're together."

"And I'm still mad at you for not making a photo of her face when you told her. Ahh, right! You don't have a camera right now. Sorry. I would give you my dad's but that would make me even more a copy cat of the other-me than I already am."

"You can't mimic yourself, Che. You are you." But the small girl saw how her girlfriend's forehead frowned. Max decided to leave it at that for now. "Yea, I'll need a new one eventually. I actually think maybe going digital would be kind of fun."

"You? Digital? Welcome to the 21st century then. I'll miss the Polaroid thought."

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. My heart'll always be with instant cameras. It'll cost me more, but I guess I'll go with both. Digital for photos I need for class and stuff like that, and a instant camera just for me."

"Dude, I want parents who can buy me two cameras, too!" The punk said as she parked the car on the lot.

"Well, unfortunately it's not that easy. Dad's business isn't going as well as we hoped." Chloe immediately turned her head around and showed the freckled girl a face full of worry. "We don't have any problems at all, it's not like that! But they wouldn't have the money to just buy me two new cameras like that either. No, I was thinking about getting a part time job. Maybe I'll ask Joyce if I can help in the diner."

"Sounds great. So I get food and love at the same place from now on!"

Max snorted as she opened the car door. But as she was about to leave the car the bigger girl grabbed her hand once more, leaned over and gave Max one last kiss.

"For the way home, you know."

"Dork..."

* * *

It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. But it wasn't as great as she hoped it would be, either. She could feel the eyes of the other students all around her following her every step. Some even dared to talk to the brunette. Mostly things without any sense other than to get some attention, like "Hey Hero!" or "How's your day Super girl?" It wasn't meant to be mean or anything like that, most people probably just forgot her name already. _Can't blame them. I don't even recognize some of their faces._ Without realizing it herself Max had become something like an idol in Blackwell. A person to look up to. And she hated it.

The small girl tried to stay as polite as possible. Until now she hadn't really thought about it, but if she would be rude to others she couldn't just rewind again. And there wouldn't be a storm to wash all her little mistakes away. _Yay! Teen-angst! Well, that's probably better than the shit I've been through the last weeks. Some good old Teen angst is like a walk in the park in comparison to dimensions shattering._

Max waved to most people who called out to her, and tried to keep the smile on her face, even when it wasn't genuine, but everyone seemed satisfied with just a fake smile.

She went straight for the girls dorm, with the intention to evade people she didn't know or didn't like. But right before the freckled girl was about to enter the building a familiar voice called out for her.

"Max! You're back!" Kate Marsh rushed over the grass and crushed her in a bear hug.

When Kate finally let her go and she could breathe again Max also greeted her friend. "H-hey, Kate!"

"I heard people saying you're back! Looks like it wasn't just a rumor."

"Geez, I'm not some kind of celebrity."

Kate smile grew even bigger. "Keep telling yourself that. Will keep you down to earth."

"What's that supposed to mean..."

"That you are pretty popular in Blackwell."

"Urgh!" Max slapped her hands into her face as she grunted.

"There could be worse things than being popular, Maxi. Imagine everyone bullied you. Not cool."

Max gulped. The blond girl had a point, and didn't even fully know how valid it was. "Y-yea. How have you been holding up Kate? With all of this I mean?"

"I'm okay, I guess. My family and the people here have been very kind to me most of the time."

"That's great! You deserve to chill. If there's anyone trying to pull you down just come to mama Max she and her new fan club will settle everything, even with someone like Victoria."

Then Kate's eyes suddenly grew bigger and moved behind Max. The freckled girl turned around to see what caught Kate's attention, and right then Victoria came outside. From her expression she assumed that the girl in her Kashmir-shirt had heard what Max just said right now. _Oh, fuck! No day at Blackwell without your daily dose of bitch. And I dared to talk back last time, so I'll probably get to hear even more crying today. Geez._

"Why the fuck do you think I of all people would bully Katie?"

 _Katie? Uhm, okay? Did I miss something?_ Max gave the two girls a confused expression. "I.. Uhm. Sorry, I guess?" The truth was, the freckled girl didn't want another argument with the blonde, she just wanted her peace. That meant no backtalk allowed!

But Victoria just sighed. "I guess the idea doesn't come from nowhere. I've been a bitch to you sometimes."

"Ehm. Well... Is everything alright, Victoria?" The moment she said those words she dammed herself for it, and for a moment the reflex of rewinding kicked in. Luckily no one seemed to notice the strange hand motion.

"I just... thought about... stuff." Victoria looked awkward and uncomfortable.

"Uhm, okay? That's good I guess. Thinking is good."

"Yea." Another sigh. "Okay, listen. I'm... kinda sorry for some things I did. Most things." A faint _Jesus fuck_ escaped her lips.

"Victoria!" A voice harsher than Max expected her to have, came out Kate's mouth. "No swears!"

"Yes, yes, sorry. I'm really bad at this stuff, Max you know what I want to say, don't you?"

Max nodded with a smile on her face. This time it was genuine. _Truce with the Queen bitch sounds good to me. One thing less I need to worry about. I kinda wanna force her to proper apologize, but that would just end in another fight between us._

The brunette stretched out her hand and waited for Victoria to shake it. "Peace sounds good. Would be a nice change for the two of us."

Just a moment later the blonde took the hand and shook it and Max could swear to see a small smile on those expensive lips over her. "That's... cool. That we're cool, I mean. Now let me please go and forget this freaking awkward conversation, please."

The freckled girl chuckled, nodded and made her way inside the dorm, Kate right behind her.

"So, you and Victoria Chase are friends now?"

"She's been really supportive and nice. I know it sounds weird you don't need to give me that strange look. But you've seen her right now, right? Maybe... Maybe she really changed."

_Typical Kate Marsh. She always saw the good in people. That's why she's always so kind to everyone. That's why she was broken so easily._

"Hard to believe, but great news nonetheless."

"Right?"

But before the two girls could continue their conversation a door swung open and Dana came outside.

"I knew I heard your voice, Max!"

"Hey, Dana."

"Finally we can feel safe with our hero back in town."

"Please don't. I should've counted how many people called me _hero_ , just on the way to the dorm."

"Aww, c'mon. We all enjoy our fair bit of attention, don't we?"

"Ha! I just told her the same." Kate said proud of herself.

"See? Even the wise sage Kate Marsh said it, so it must be true. You're the hero the Bay deserves."

"Geez." Max rolled her eyes at the Batman quote, but still had a smile on her face. She knew of course that Dana was just joking around.

Then Dana suddenly grabbed Max hand and pulled her inside her room, waving Kate to enter as well. "Now, you're gonna tell us what was going on with you. I want details, Max. You made your friends worry." Upon hearing the words friends Max felt how her eyes watered. _Am I allowed to call you that? I would've killed all of you for Chloe..._


	16. The secret boyfriend

"Of course it's nosy Kate."

"But we can't just force Max to tell us everything. That's not fair. She should decide when she wants to tell us anything!"

"Kate, listen. You're a nice girl. You're sensitive. I'm not."

Max couldn't contain her laugh any longer, and both arguing girls instantly turned their face to the brunette. "I feel like I'm in an interrogation and you guys try to pull the 'good cop, bad cop'-thing. No, seriously it's understandable that you've questions. And to be honest I'm happy that you two care for me, at least somewhat."

One of Dana's eyebrows quirked upwards. "Somewhat?"

"Well I figured you two may be angry with me for not contacting you."

But Kate just shook her head. "Angry? More like worried. We both thought that you probably have good reasons for not contacting any of us."

The freckled girl sighed. As she scratched the back of her head she thought about how this wasn't the first time she had thought about what she should tell her friends. She obviously couldn't expect anyone to believe the time travel story, but she still didn't want to lie to either of them. _I'll have to lie for some parts, that's obvious, but I can give them at least some parts of the truth-cake, can't I?_ Max cleared her throat and then began to speak. "Well, for the most part I just had fear."

"Fear? Of what? Nathan and Jefferson aren't here anymore, shouldn't you feel rather safe now?" Dana asked confused.

"Exactly! There was no real reason for it. I just..." Max's blue eyes couldn't hold any eye contact anymore and locked onto the floor. "I just... couldn't shake off the feeling of him still being here." The two other girl's face immediately softened and all three of them fell silent for a few moments.

The first one to speak again was Kate. With a insecure voice she asked, "Max, there was a rumor about how you knew all of this... You don't need to answer if you don't want to. Dana and I can both understand if you just want to forget everything about it. Really!"

Of course the freckled girl knew that Kate was talking about the dark room. Strangely thought, Max didn't feel as bad as she did when she was telling Chloe. _Was it because they don't know the whole story? Maybe that's part of the reason, but the thing that disturbed me the most was the thought of Chloe leaving me or hating me after hearing what happened... Such a stupid thought. As if she would ever do something like that. Gosh, I just wish my body would listen to me more often._ _Stupid anxiety for no reason at all..._ She didn't have a flashback, nor did she need to vomit which was good. Not so good was that the familiar sobbing was still there. Her ankles and wrists still hurt even when she just thought about the hours chained in the chair. And she wasn't sure if it would ever lessen. But she also noticed that opening up about it wasn't so hard anymore. _It wasn't my fault, but I still feel tainted. Sometimes I just want to peel my own skin... But I think I'm getting more stable the more hours are between me and the week that never existed. Maybe time really does heal some wounds. Even if there'll always be a scar._

As the small brunette started to talkabout her trauma, Dana and Kate didn't hesitate to embrace the small girl in a group-cuddle. No one needed to say anything anymore. The tears spoke for themselves. It wasn't the same as when Chloe would hold her, but it was still a damn good feeling to actually feel that someone cared about her. _Friends, huh? Never thought they could actually be so important to me._

After what felt like minutes passed, Dana was the first one to speak again. "I'm sorry... Kate was right. I just... hoped those rumors were just that. Rumors."

"Yea... me too." The freckled girl said with a sad smile on her face.

"If there's anything I can do for you..."

"Being my friend is pretty much the best thing that you can do for me right now."

Dana's makeup was now all over her face thanks to the tears, but she still managed to laugh. "That was a pretty corny line, Max."

"Wasn't it? Cheesiness helps sometimes." Kate and Dana could totally agree with that.

Afterwards Max told them that Nathan had somehow drugged her, and she couldn't even fully remember when and how he did that. The freckled girl never expected that lying would come so easy to her. She didn't even feel guilty or anything.  
To be precise she was feeling rather joyful. Hurting Nathan's image even more was something she enjoyed doing. _I should be scared of myself, shouldn't I?_

"And that's just that. Then there was my childhood slash best friend who just had lost a very close friend, so she needed my comfort."

The blonde looked like she was thinking about something. "So it was all just to much for your body in the end?"

The small girl shrugged. "I think so at least." It felt weird, letting out the most important part about everyone dying and time travel, but Max thought that this would still be good enough to cover her and Chloe up.

"Does Chloe knows any of this?" Max nodded. "Not trying to get between you and her, but you should be the one who gets the comfort right now to be honest." Kate was harsh, but had a fair point, but Max just shook her head in response. "I didn't tell her at first. After I told her, we pretty much tried to help each other, which worked sometimes better, sometimes worse, but all in all I'm glad that she's back in my life." The freckled girl noticed that Kate's mouth formed a knowing grin. She probably just realized that there was more than just friendship between the hippie and the punk now.

"You and her could be right out of a fairy tail. This was fate that brought you two back together." The cheerleader suddenly said.

"Yep. Fate... Or just the death of a friend."

"No, don't even think like that! Chloe would've totally gotten back to you sooner or later! As far as I know she was always talking about you. Just go ask Trevor and Justin. I just didn't expect you and this punk would be best friends... Well, looks like I misjudged you. Next you tell me you smoke weed or something." And as she didn't get any answer from Max, just a somewhat evading expression while the freckled girl nervously played with her hair.  
Dana's jaw dropped open. "Never. Chloe forced you, didn't she? Damn it, she's corrupting my innocent little Max."

Kate looked just as surprised. "Did you really... consumed Marijuana?"

"Well, with all the stress in the last few days I just thought maybe I needed something to relax. And all in all it wasn't as strong as I expected it to be."

Dana suddenly snorted.

"What? Did I say something funny?" Now Max was confused.

"No, it's just that Chloe probably gave you a laced joint." And when Max gave her a even more confused look, she added "Dude, when Trevor and Justin got high, I just needed to sit right next to them to feel dizzy, not even talking about actually taking a puff from it. No way you would take that stuff like it was nothing."

"Ohhh. That explains a lot. But now that you mention those two, it surprises me that you didn't know Chloe when I first introduced you to her."

"Well, it's not like I had never seen her or heard her name for the first time. But before I really got any chance to approach her she was already expelled. Justin was head over heels for her for some time, by the way."

"Oh, he was?" Max tried to sound surprised but thought to herself _Ha! I knew it!_

"Trust me, it was annoying as heck. He couldn't stop talking about how cool her new hair color was."

"It _does_ look pretty amazing, thought." The freckled girl tried to defend the beautiful hair of the girl she loved. _No one talks about precious, it's Max's, and only Max's!_

"Okay, don't get all protective." Dana brought her two hands up as if she would surrender. Kate just snuggled to herself, knowing why Max was acting like that when it came to Chloe.

Then, suddenly, the cheerleader clapped her hands together. "I've got an idea! We should celebrate the return of our hero!"

"Dana. No."

"Why not? You could of course bring Chloe over. Not a lot of people needed to be there either. Me, Kate, Trevor which includes Justin coming, Juliet would be there as well, and we could even ask Warren. This guy was so worried about you! It was really adorable."

Max totally forgot about Warren the last few days, which she found somewhat unfair of herself. _He helped me a lot and never got anything in return. I should at least be nice towards him, he deserved it._ The freckled girl thought, but she still knew that for the thing he wanted most he would first need to defeat a certain blue punk. "Yea, Warren is a great friend." She quickly said, before Dana could get suspicious about her silence.

"If you really think so, why not give him and you a chance?" Dana said. _She was always the one who would get people in touch. As far as I know she's the one who got Juliet her boyfriend as well. A real matchmaker, isn't she?_

Right at that moment Kate suddenly said something rather surprising. "Oh, that won't be necessary anymore." And before Dana could figure out what the blonde just meant by saying that Max raised her voice. "Kate!"

Kate winced. "Oh no! We shouldn't talk about it?" And as the freckled girl just stared at her, she understood as well. "I'll just shut my mouth."

Dana stood up and put her hands on her hips. With a strict demanding voice she said. "I owe you my respect. You're better than I thought. Keeping something like blazing hidden is one thing, but a boyfriend... From not just me but even the likes of Juliet, who're even worse than me when it comes to gossip. But why keep us in the dark in the first place?" She started asking the right questions, and the freckled girl didn't like where this was going. _After all I promised Chloe that she would be here with me!_

"L-let me call Che! She should be able to explain all of it better."

"Che?"

"Ehh, I meant Chloe."

After dialing the punk's number Max waited for her girlfriend to answer the call. _I just hope she'll understand what I'm talking about. Oh gosh, what if she's high?_

"Hey babe, what's up? Already missing your girlfriend?" Max was happy that she didn't put the phone on loudspeaker, this would've been more than just awkward to be called like that in front of Dana.

"Listen Che, Dana is close on my heels already."

"Awww, don't tell me you told her too?"

"Not yet, that's why I called, she's actually right next to me. Thing is, she figured out parts of it, thanks to Kate-" Before Max could continue the blonde yelled "Sorry Chloe!" Into the phone. "She knows that I've got a secret boyfriend." Dana and Kate could hear a burst of laughter on the other hand of the phone.

"Put me on speakers."

"Sure?"

"Trust me, just do it."

"Okay." The small girl did as commanded.

"Hello everyone?"

The two girls greeted the punk.

"So Dana... I never knew you were a nosy one. I thought that was Max job."

"She just loves gossip." Kate said with a shrug Chloe couldn't see.

"Hey! That's... accurate." The cheerleader confessed with a grin on her face.

"Okay, okay. What do you want to know about her _boyfriend_?"

"I don't know? Who is he? How does he look like?"

"Well, he's a guy that about 5 years ago started living in the bay."

"Hmmm."

"He works at home for the most part and normally you can only find him outside in some really weird places, like Ameri-... the junkyard."

"Okay?... He sounds very punk-like, doesn't he?"

"Because he pretty much is one. He's tall, has colored hair and a pretty cool tattoo."

"And Max would just go out with someone like that? Sounds like you're a pretty bad influence on her." Dana's comment made the couple laugh.

"Well, I was the one who introduced him to Max, so what do you expect? A knight in shining armor?"

"I guess not. But why would those two keep it a secret? It sounds like he doesn't want to let anybody know that he's Max girlfriend."

"Well, that's the whole point, isn't it?"

"Listen Chloe, we both know how men think only about one thing. If he's cheating on her behind her back I'll-"

Another laughter came out of the phone. _She's enjoying this way too much. Chloe is pretty much just describing herself, isn't she?_ But before the now somewhat flustered Max could interfere Chloe spun her story even more out. "Naaa, I think he is genuinely in love with her. But your right, it was in fact his idea but for a different reason. Let's just say a lot of people don't think very... high of him."

Suddenly the freckled girl started continuing the story in place of Chloe. "He's very caring and lovely, but most people don't look much further than what he wears or how he looks so they misjudge him. To be honest, most of the times he's freaking mushy, even if he hates to admit it. I love that about him."

"He's not mushy!" Chloe blurted out. But the small girl just chuckled. _This such a Chloe-like reaction._ _She was the one who started with the whole "I'm your secret boyfriend" thing._ But before Dana could ask what that was all about, Chloe quickly began to talk again. "He just wanted to protect her from all the gossip at school. Hella protective this dude."

Then Dana suddenly interrupted the punk's story. "So you two won't tell me what's going on?"

"Huh?"

"C'mon, please don't underestimate me. You guys really think I wouldn't have heard of someone like that? Arcadia isn't that big and I lived her half my life... And I like gossip, Kate was right about that. So I'm pretty sure I would know if someone like that existed in our town."

"Well..." Max was startled. It hasn't been her intention to offend Dana.

Kate tried to help the two girls out, fully knowing what Max and Chloe had tried to do. "I-It's just that..."

"And you too Kate. Why would you lie to me? I like to _hear_ gossip, but not to _create_ it. Did I ever gave you the impression that I can't keep secrets?" Kate's blue eyes were looking down on her fingers, with which she was nervously playing.

At that moment a sigh came out of the phone. "Okay Dana. Sorry. But we didn't lie for the most part to be fair."

One of the cheerleader's eyebrows quirked up. "For the most part?" She repeated.

"Yea well, the thing is-"

"You sure, Che? You said you wanted to see her face, didn't you?" Max interrupted.

"I had my fun. We don't need to torment Dana any longer do we?"

"Don't keep me waiting any longer, geez!" Dana tried to point her curiosity once more.

"The identity of her secret _boyfriend_ is, drum roll please... Me."

"You?"

"Yep."

Dana's eyebrows narrowed, her lips slightly opened up and the word _disbelieving_ was written all over her face. "I wish you could see her face right now, Chloe."

The cheerleader just stood there for some moments, but she got her composure back faster than the freckled girl expected. Now the bigger brunette looked more and more disappointed. _Is she still angry with me? Maybe she doesn't believe that we're together?_

"Max is a lesbian?" Dana asked the phone.

"I don't really know _what_ I am. I just know that love her"

"She's hella crushing on me."

"That's it?"

"Well, yes?"

"Chloe is not a trans, is she? You called her _boyfriend_ , so I'm just asking to clarify stuff."

They both were surprised by that conclusion, but after letting a small chuckle escape her lips Max explained, "Actually you were the one who called her that first. We just went on board with that."

"You guys're assholes you know that?"

"She pouting, Max?"

"Hella pouting to be exact."

"Awww, we're sorry Dana. Just had a little too much fun with you." The punk tried to cheer Dana up again.

"it's just that... I expected something bigger than that."

"It's pretty big for us." The small girl said as she crossed her arms.

Dana raised her hands up to defend herself. "Woha, I didn't mean it like 'it's unimportant'. It's just that we live in the year 2013. It's not that uncommon anymore. I mean even our little Jesus-women seems fine with it, right Katie?" Kate just rolled her eyes, but nodded as an answer to her question.

"Yea, I wish everyone would think like that." Chloe said.

"But I'll keep my mouth shut, don't worry. You two can be sure that I and Kate'll be there to support you if you decide to come out with it in public. And let me be honest, you two're perfect for each other! Now it really is like a sappy movie!"

The freckled girl embraced Dana in a bear hug after hearing what she just said, and Kate didn't wait long to join the two. "We'll always be there for you Max. That's what friends do for each other, right?" Kate added to what Dana just said.

"Sounds like you have everything under control now, babe. I got some stuff to do, text you later, alrighty?"

"Kay, thanks, Che!" The small brunette said, still relieved that everything was working out good, without any stupid drama. But then she halted for a moment. _Stuff to do? What in god's name does Chloe Elizabeth Price has to do? Hmm, should probably ask her later._

Now it was just the three of them again. As Max put her phone back in her bag she noticed how Dana was making puppy eyes while having an impish smirk on her face. At first she was confused what the cheerleader wanted from her, but then understood the meaning of the expression. With a sigh she said "We'll tell you how everything went down, when _Chloe_ is here."

"Ahhh, Come on! You're worse than a cliffhanger in Game of thrones!"

"At least I still have all my limbs."

"Point taken. But seriously, you two sure about it?"

"One hundred percent sure. When her arms embrace me I feel safe. Her kisses feel like small explosions on my skin. It's just feels right, you know? And I'm not even talking about her awesome and crazy personality. She's funny, kind, beautiful, rather smart and... I'm gushing, aren't I?"

"You're just being sweet, Max. I'm happy for you two." Kate said as her lips formed a kind smile.

"That's fine and all, but we didn't yet ask the really interesting questions. Katie you should probably cover your innocent ears." Max gulped, knowing where this would go. "How far did you two go, yet?" Excitement was written all over Dana's face.

"Dana! That's up to them, isn't it?" The blonde tried to interfere.

"You can't just expect a cute little hippie like Max to _not_ be attacked by an animal like Chloe, can you? Two healthy teenage girls. One week just for themselves."

"Well..." Now the blonde looked rather curious as well. _How did we even end up here?_ Her freckled cheeks reddened as she started to think about the time the two of them were in the shower together. _Not now head! Please, just work for me for once!_

"W-we... we didn't do anything wrong... _yet_."

"Oho! You heard that Kate? Still kissing-phase then! But I think I heard disappointment somewhere in your voice, Max."

"Wowser, You just won't stop, will you?"

"Don't dodge the question!"

After letting out another sigh the freckled girl confessed, "It's not like I don't want to. I just don't know if we're ready, yet. Does she want to as well? When? Where? _How_?" Max groaned. She actually managed to admit those worries to Kate and Dana. "Having a girlfriend is complicated..."

Before Dana had a chance to dig any deeper into Max's private life, Kate raised her voice, her whole face red from the blood rushing through it. "L-listen, I think you and her should take your time. No one is giving you any pressure. No one even really knows that you and her are a thing. The only one who knows what's right is you and her."

The cheerleader was surprised. "That's pretty good advice from you, Katie."

"Thanks, I guess." The blonde didn't knew if that was a compliment or not.

A few minutes later the freckled hipster stood up and explained, with a yawn, that she needed some sleep before school tomorrow. She said goodbye and made her way, without any further confrontation, into her room. She didn't waste any time, just tossing her clothes on her sofa and crawled right into her bed. But despite being so sleepy, she needed rather long to fall asleep. Something was missing. Something big and warm with blue hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> Finally a chapter without too much anxiety! I didn't even know that I was capable of something like that :D
> 
> Hope all of you could enjoy the chapter still :3


	17. School life

The morning was rough.

Max woke up way too early, but was actually quiet relieved about it because she had been plagued by nightmares over the whole night. Being back in Blackwell left an impact on her after all. A lot of memories were linked to this school. A lot of bad memories. When she woke up she still felt drenched from the rain, until she realized that Kate wasn't trying to jump from the roof and that she wasn't there next to her trying to stop her. _Just a cozy bed. Nothing wants to kill me here._ Max also couldn't sleep until she placed a lamp next to her bed so that she wouldn't have to sleep in the darkness.

Not feeling very energetic, the freckled girl still stood up after struggling for a few minutes. _Why is it that beds are always more comfy in the morning?_

Classes began in an hour so she should have enough time to shower first.  
Max grabbed the things she needed for the shower and without daring to look into the mirror first she wanted to go out of her room, but first glimpsed at her class schedule. _Monday... Last class was always his... I just hope I'll manage without vomiting again..._ With that in mind she closed the door behind her.

While going through the brown mess on her head with one of her hands, the freckled girl looked down the hallway but saw no one. It was empty as usual. She, Stella and Kate usually were the first ones to wake up. Or so she thought. When she opened the door to the bathroom Juliet was standing in front of the mirror, doing her make up. Her green eyes jumped over to the door as Max came inside the room. Then her mouth formed a small smile.

"So, you're back I've heard."

"Don't even want to know from whom. I don't want to be some semi-celebrity."

"But that's what you are now, Max." The journalist said with a wink.

While letting out an annoyed "Urgh." The small girl moved into one of the shower cabins. She undressed and started to shower.  
Feeling the cold water hit her face reminded her of being held by Chloe in the Price's shower. The water had been warm that time. Or had it just been Chloe's closeness that had her feel so warm? Her arms had been pulling Max's waist from behind. The punk's long legs lay around her own. The soft feeling of the blue haired girl's breasts on her back was still there. For a moment it felt like Chloe was here with her. The freckled girl gulped. She missed the punk's lips and started to longingly bit her own one's. Her voice, her eyes, her jokes, even her smell of cigarette had grown so much on the hippie that she felt a desire for it. This was the first time Max Caulfield truly regretted that she didn't "take the shot". Maybe she should have turned around and kissed her girlfriend when both of them were in the shower. _Hmmm, I wonder how that would have felt. Before the shower I never even thought about Chloe's... body like that. But now that I saw it with my own eyes, it's hard to think about anything else at all... Which I don't dislike. In fact there a few things I would rather imagine right before me._ Max let herself return to that certain moment again. _Healthy developed breasts. A cute little bellybutton. Round waists. She doesn't shave. Not even a full day and I already can't stand the fact that she's not with me. Next time we meet maybe... I should be a bit more aggressive?_

A sudden "Max?" brought the small girl back as she winced and nearly slipped in the cabin. _Shit, what do you want Juliet? First flashback I actually do want to relive._

She tried to sound not as annoyed as she was feeling right now. "Y-yea? What's up Juliet?" Max answered as she stuck her head outside.

"Just now I had an idea. What do you think about giving us, meaning the Blackwell-newspaper-team, an interview?"

Max couldn't believe it. Literally seconds ago she had explained that she didn't want all this attention. "Sorry Juliet, but I just told-"

"Yes, yes I know. That's exactly why I'm asking you." She interrupted the small girl, "They're interested in you because they don't know you."

"Uhm... thanks?" Max tried to not be offended by that statement. The reporter in front of her didn't seem like she had ill intent towards Max after all.

"Geez, I meant it more like they just want to know who you are. Right now you're the big question-mark running around on campus. If they would know that behind all those stories is a normal, and no I don't mean _normal_ in a bad way, girl most people would just loose interest. Trust me." And Max tried to do exactly that. After all it was Juliet who was working for a newspaper not her. So she thought that it would be fair to give her a chance. "Okay, Juliet Watson, let me just finish my shower first and then I'll hear you out."

For a moment there was an surprised expression on the reporters face, and Max figured it was because she actually remembered her last name. This time at least. _How could I think that her last name was Mason? I shouldn't have watched so much stuff about the Mason family, but the documentary Warren had on his USB was really good thought.._.

"O-Okay. Good! I'll wait in Dana's room then."

"Yep."

And the freckled girl just did as she said. To her regret, she was now to distracted to think about her girlfriend as clearly as she did before. Questions about the interview popped into her head. _What'll they ask? When would it be? Will it really help with this awkward super-hero-situation?_ But Max had to admit, she was feeling kind of excited. _My first interview! Once I become a pro photographer I'll have to give tons of those. Insert ironic laughter please... I don't even have a camera anymore. That's probably the thing I miss second most right now._

A few minutes later she was done. She quickly went back to her room to change into her casual clothes. Green hoodie and a brown jeans. She then grabbed her bag, which felt weird without the weight of a camera in it, and went straight to Dana's room.  
The door was open and she could already hear the two girls talk with each other before she even reached the door. The freckled girl knocked on the open door and greeted Dana and Juliet.

"Hey, you two."

"Morning Max. Close the door behind you please. Don't want to wake anyone, up do we?" Dana asked.

"Now that you say it, I never knew you two were early birds."

"Because Dana isn't. I just woke her because someone forgot to give my comb back!"

"Ohh stop it already! Didn't you punish me enough already? I swear if I get dark circles around my eyes I'll break that comb of yours!"

Max made a mental notice for herself. _Dana in the morning equals grumpy. Good to know._

"So Juliet just told me you're going to do this interview?"

"I just think she has a point. Maybe attention'll go away afterwards."

"Or they'll love you even more."

"So you don't like the idea?"

"Hmm, I don't know to be honest. Juliet probably knows what she's doing, thought."

Juliet looked a bit proud to be recognized by her best friend like that. "So, when would be a good time for you, Max?"

The small brunette thought about it for a moment and decided that this week would be to crowed with stuff she needed to do regarding Sean Prescott. This should be her priority right now. As soon as they were done dealing with him, Chloe and Max would be able to really live a normal life. "Would next week be okay?"

"Sure, whenever it fits you."

"Great! Thanks Juliet."

"Nothing to thank for, just doing my job."

Max didn't stay much longer in Dana's room. She said her goodbye and went outside of the girls dorm room. For some time she just strolled around the campus and then made her way into the main building. She could feel the eyes of many students following her the whole time. The small girl tried to ignore the gazes and made her way to her locker to get the rest of her books she needed for Miss Grant's chemistry class.

As she came inside an excited boy, with brown hair and a blue pullover with the cover of E.T. on it, rushed over and embraced her. "Max!"

 _"_ Warren!? _" He deserves a hug, but afterwards I'll have to explain that... I'm taken._ The freckled girl then noticed something unusual. Feeling the male boy holding her in his strong, or at least stronger than Max's, arms made her... nervous. She knew that he was a good guy but the feeling of someone else restraining her in some way still made her uncomfortable. Max brought her two hands between her and Warren and pushed him away, harder than she intended too.

"W-Warren. Hey!" She tried to cover up the pushing.

The nerd was confused for a moment but before he could speak his mind Miss Grant started the class. Max peeked one last time over to Warren to see if he was upset, but it looked like he was already focusing on what their teacher was talking about. Something about how electrons needed to be able to travel through the molecule. _What the heck are functional groups again..._ For the first five to ten minutes Max tried to listen, but soon or later accepted the fact that this was just too boring to listen to for a full hour. _It's not like I don't want to know how color is made visible... It's just so god damn boring. How can Warren and Brooke focus on something like that. Those're just some lines and circles without any logic behind it, aren't they?  
_ Her blue eyes then started to wander blackboard to the faces of her classmates. Sarah and a girl named Jessica were whispering with each other next to the window. Victoria and her gang were secretly using their smartphones to text god knows who. Courtney wasn't sitting next to them, which was odd. She was right next to Jessica and Sarah, but Max didn't really care for either of them so she didn't gave it any thought. Stella was casually silent through the whole lesson. Evan was trying to fix his hair with one of his hands because one of his strands was marching to a different drummer. Daniel was scribbling something on a piece of paper, probably a sketch for his next amazing painting. Brooke and Warren were pretty much the only ones asking questions. Everything seemed normal. In fact everything _was_ normal. For everyone but Max this was just another week. But for her this was so much more. _They're all safe. We are. Even if Sean Prescott ruins my life it'll still be one. A life. No one needs to die anymore... I don't think Chloe'll care if I have a lot of money or not. As long as we just stay together we'll be happy and nothing can happen to me. She's... like my beacon of light..._

"Max Caulfield, could you explain how the resonance works in this particular molecule!" Miss Grant suddenly said as she pointed at a weird circle on the blackboard.

"W-well... I... Uhm..." Max, being pulled out of her day dreaming, looked confused from the board to her teacher and back to the board. Suddenly a voice spoke up. "Looks like the hero doesn't know the answer to everything." Courtney suddenly said. Max turned around with a skeptical expression on her face. _Did I do anything to piss her off?_

"Do you know the answer then, Courtney? Or do you just want score off Max?" The freckled girl first expected Warren to help her, but for some reason it was Brooke who was defending her right now.

"What's your problem, nerd?"

"Courtney! One more word and we'll have a talk with the principal about your behavior!" Miss Grant stopped any further argument with her threat. Courtney let out a "Hmpf." and turned her head towards the window. _What was that all about?_

The rest of the lesson went over rather fast, because Max mind was still trying to figure out why Courtney would hate her and why out of all people Brooke would support her. When the bell rang the freckled girl stood up and tried to decide what to do. Her old self would have done nothing at all. She would have stayed quiet and probably wrote all her thoughts just into her diary. But now Max just went over to where Warren and Brooke were standing.

"Hey you two!"

Warren and Brooke nodded towards her and let out a "Hey." There were multiple thinks that Max noticed in instantly. First of all Warren didn't try to create any physical contact with the brunette, and then there was Brooke's face. It was... relaxed. Normally there would be a hidden jealousy in her expression, but right now she looked rather calm.

"Thanks for standing up for me Brooke."

"No problem, Miss hero."

"Are you cereal? Not you too." Max groaned.

"Just joking."

 _She can crack a joke? Wowser, looks like I never knew the real Brooke!_ "Do you know why she was so pissed at me?"

"You can't figure that out?" Warren asked with fake disappointment in his voice and a smile on his face. "You destroyed her Vortex Club."

"That's actually new to me. Wasn't there even a party a few days ago that the Vortex Club organized?"

"You weren't there, right?" The nerdy boy asked. The freckled girl gave an agreeing nod. "It was nothing like before you brought out the truth about Nathan. Let's play a little game of guessing from where all the money came to finance all of the parties." And before there was any time to answer he added, "Yep, that's right! The one you brought behind bars."

"But he was a psycho!" Max tried to defend herself.

Warren brought his hands up in defense. "Whoa. Like ninety nine percent of the world I'm totally on your side. But there'll always be some bitch who doesn't like you." Brook agreed with that statement. "There's really no reason to take anything serious from her, Max. She's just an arrogant drama queen who doesn't get to play princess as much as she used too. I actually expected more of them to act like that, but Victoria and Taylor seem to have spent some skill-points in _humanity_." Max and Warren chuckled at Brooke's joke. _Maybe... I really could be friends with here?_

But still, the brunette couldn't believe what she just heard. "How can someone be so arrogant? Doesn't she know that he literally killed someone?"

Warren then retorted with disgust in his voice, "There're some people who just don't care about the well being of others. As long as everything is good for them they don't care about anything else." His eyes then wandered to the clock on the wall and he suddenly said that he needed to get going or he would be late for his next class, and left the two girls alone in the classroom.

For a moment there was silence, but then the black-haired girl said "Sooo, I saw that you pushed him away right before the lesson."

A light dawned on Max. _So that's why was in such a good mood._ "Yea... Brooke, you seem like a cool person so let me be frank," The freckled girl put one of her hands on Brooke's shoulder "I don't want anything from Warren. He's a friend. Just that. Nothing more."

"Wha-"

"I never have and never will stand between you two. So everything cool between us?"

A obviously confused Brooke stood before her and it looked like she was at a loss of words. "I guess?... I mean yes! E-Everything's cool. I-I just didn't expect you to be so direct or honest."

The small girl shrugged. "Me neither." And with that she made her way out of the classroom.

The rest of the day went on rather uneventful. Some interesting lessons and some rather boring ones. Max spent most of her time either with friends or texting with Chloe, even if she still didn't knew what the punk was up to. Then there was a break for most students. Max wasn't sure what to do, so she first bought herself something to eat and then made her way outside of the buildings. For October it was still pretty warm so that her hoodie was more then enough to wear. She moved to one of the benches but before she sat herself down she saw Warren and Kate already waving her over.  
Apparently since the two of them met in the hospital when Max fell unconscious, they had become great friends.

"Max we wanted to talk to you!" Warren yelled over the grass as she came towards them.

"Sure, sup?"

Kate spoke up. "There was a man looking for you."

The freckled girl froze on the spot. _Was it someone working for Sean Prescott?_ "H-How did he look like?"

"Blond, tall, shaved but with a two-day-old beard and he wore a not too expensive looking suit." Kate explained. Then Warren added, "And he also had tats all over his neck and on one of his hands I believe." Max didn't knew anyone like that. She was suspicious of the suit, but would someone working for a snob like Sean Prescott be allowed to have tattoos? She doubted it.

"Your description honestly doesn't ring a bell. Did he say anything at all?"

"Just that he wanted to meet you and Chloe." There it was. Everything seemed to normal since this morning. Of course her blue haired girlfriend wasn't safe. Death's grip was still holding her tight. Max felt how she started to tremble in fear. Warren suddenly said, "He sounded shaken. No not shaken, he sounded broken." He corrected himself. "It didn't seem like he was dangerous at all." Kate added. But still, the anxiety was back again. _Where's Chloe? What is she doing right now? I need to find her asap!_

"I-I should tell C-Chloe." The small hippie tried to not loose composure as much as possible, but the two friends easily noticed that she was scared. Max pulled out her phone and called her girlfriend.

"Maximus! You've a break right now?"

"Chloe! Y-Yes, but that's not why I called. Can you come over?"

"When?" The blue haired girl instantly heard the concern in her girlfriends voice, and didn't need any further explanations.

"Now?"

"On my way, I'm actually not far from Fuckwell. Will be there in ten minutes or so."

"Kay, bye." Both girls hung up.

Max then explained to Kate and Warren that Chloe would come over now and that maybe she knew something about this guy.

Just who was this suit guy?


	18. Revelation

Not the perfect reunion the punk had hopped for.

She had planned to either surprise the freckled girl or lift her up and swing her through the air. Now she was just making big fast steps over the campus to where Max and the other were, worried about her girlfriend. But it wasn't really the fact that her plans were ruined that annoyed her so much.

As she moved over the campus she heard several people utter the name "Maxine Caulfield."

Dana had been right. Her girlfriend was popular now.

* * *

_**Dana: U fucking owe me Price** _

_**Chloe: Aww still butthurt?** _

_**Dana: Wouldn't u be too?** _

_**Chloe: Maybe, if you had a sexy geek as a girlfriend** _

**_Dana: Hey, I got Trevor!_ **

**_Dana: Okay 1-0 for you_ **

**_Dana: Just don't corrupt her more than you did already_ **

**_Chloe: What could you possibly mean_ **

**_Dana: Don't act innocent now punk_ **

**_Dana: She knows the joints were laced_ **

**_Chloe: Hella buzzkill Dana!_ **

**_Dana: Don't hella me now_ **

**_Dana: Actually it would be better if she stayed clean for now, who knows who might see her if she doesn't_ **

**_Chloe: What do you mean?_ **

**_Dana: She didn't tell u?_ **

* * *

Dana then wrote that Max was famous for what she had done to Mr. Jefferson and Nathan Prescott. Her girlfriend was popular now. Especially with the boys. Chloe _hated_ the idea of her Max living next to a horny horde of teeny boys. _They have the privilege of seeing her cute freckles every day, while I have to drive over to see her! Hella unfair! First time I regret being a dropout..._

As the blue haired girl came around a corner she saw her girlfriend, Kate and Warren standing on the other side of the place before the main entrance, but she also saw a group of three boys their age that were eyeing the small brunette. _That's my property!_ She thought. _No one is allowed to stare at her and drool except for me! Wasn't Warren enough? Now half the school wants to get into her pants..._

Chloe was jealous of some random boys who would probably never have the guts to even talk to Max, yet she couldn't help it but feel the anger, that came alongside with the jealousy, boil up inside of her.

It only took her about twenty seconds to get to where the hippie was standing, and in this short amount of time she made a decision. _There needs to be a hella clear signal to the whole fucking world!_

As the punk reached Max she ignored the "Hi." from both Kate and Warren. She grabbed her girlfriend, who opened her eyes wide in surprise, by the shoulders. Then she smashed Max's lips against her own one's. At first the small girl tried to resist but gave in relatively fast, closed her eyes and let her own desire take over as she melted in Chloe's arms. The hands that first tried to push the punk away now moved behind Chloe's back and pulled her closer. She went on her tiptoes to reach the punk's lips better. She could feel a tongue enter her mouth and started playing with it. She could taste that the blue haired girl recently had a smoke, and she had missed this smokey taste so much after just one day that it made her ecstatic to make out with her now.

Sooner or later Max needed to pull back to breathe, but as soon as she couldn't feel Chloe's lips anymore her head jerked forwards again to nibble on the punk's neck. _Time for a revenge hickie_.  
For a while the two girls just stood there arm in arm. Non of them wanted to move away first.  
Chloe, now feeling the warmth that Max emitted, was surprised that she felt such a longing for the geeky brunette after just one day. _I should never let go of your bony white ass._  
Max had a stupid grin on her face knowing that there was no going back or hiding now. Everyone would know that they were dating.

"Wowser..." Max said with a low voice. "You sure Chloe?"

"Hella sure! Sorry that I didn't ask before making out with you in public."

Chloe then observed of the hippie's expression changed. It looked like Max just now realized that they were standing between a lot of people. She turned around and saw that everyone on the campus where watching them. Then a loud whistle came from Hayden and some people started to applaud them. _Don't blush now!... They just saw me making out with Chloe, how couldn't I blush?_ While Max's face looked like she stayed in the sun for too long, the punk next to her seemed to be delighted with the outcome. Chloe hoped that most people would realize now that Max Caulfield wasn't booty for anyone except her.

And after a short moment it seemed that most tension was blown away. Most people turned away again, and only some had a somewhat disappointed look on their face, but Max could care less about her little fan club. It actually would be best if she would loose popularity because of her sexuality. Or so she thought at least.

The brunette turned around and saw a shocked Warren looking at the two of them. _Oh, he was still here. Chloe really is dangerous if it comes to making out. I totally spaced out..._

"Never knew... you weren't straight?" It was more of a question to make sure he didn't say anything inappropriate.

 _That's not awkward at all. C'mon little hipster, be honest with Warren! He deserves it!_ Max tried to encourage herself. "Yea... Well... Sorry."

"Sorry? It's not like we choose what we like, is it? We just like it."

"Right! Just... I thought you might..."

He shrugged. "Can't say I'm not a bit disappointed, but looks like I never had a chance to begin with."

Chloe smile grew over her whole face. "Now you're slowly starting to get it."

 _Oh, of course... Now begins the 'rubbing in the face'-phase..._ But before the punk could do anything like that Max quickly said, "But I want to be your friend Warren. That cool?"

"Shouldn't it be? Maybe a bit awkward at first, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it. I'm a big boy, don't worry." He said and managed a smirk, which was obviously faked. Max could see that he was hurt. She even felt somewhat guilty that he had to learn of it in such a direct way.

"And if you still don't get it I'll have to mark my property in other ways."

"Gross!" The freckled girl said, but Warren and Kate just chuckled as Chloe let out a howl. "But seriously, you take that better than I thought you would, Warry. Sure there's not some hope left within you?" Chloe half teased, with some concern hidden in her voice only Max really noticed.

"Hope? You mean Facts! I work with facts! You need to understand that I'm a scientist. If the apple does fall on the ground there is gravity. If two people kiss like that there is love. I don't waste my time with something like believe and hope."

Chloe snorted. "Nerd."

Then suddenly Kate said "What do you mean with _waste of time_?" as she looked somewhat offended.

Warren's mouth formed an _Oh fuck_ as he noticed that he somewhat offended the blonde girl next to him. "It's just... Okay there's no way out of it so why not dig my grave completely? Religion has no scientific proof at all. I can't believe in something that, as far as we know, doesn't exist."

"As far as we know? Didn't you say yourself that we know next to nothing about the universe?"

"But that's not the point, what I mean is that we can't explain someone coming back from the dead and such."

The punk bent down and lay her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder. Arms around Max's waist, Chloe whispered into Max's ear, "Oh boy, I'm not high enough for something like that. So why am I here?" At first the freckled geek was still dreamy about the fact that Chloe was nestling against her and felt like turning her head to give the punk another kiss, but then she realized what her girlfriend had just asked. A _h, right... We're gonna get killed by some mysterious tat-guy..._ Max thought as she made a step away from Chloe. _My hearth is not ready for public-cuddling in public_.

The punk just thought that the shyness of the freckled brunette was adorable, and she wanted to tease her more, but then Max blurted everything out, "Warren and Kate just told me that a guy was looking for us..."

Kate and Warren stopped their argument after realizing that Max started to explain Chloe what she just heard from them. When the freckled girl was finally done with the explanation Chloe had taken off her beanie and scratched her scalp, while being deep in thought.

"This sounds like some Hitman shit. He didn't have a barcode somewhere, did he?"

The freckled girl shook her head in disbelieve. "And you're still able to crack a joke. You're incredible."

"Aren't I? No, seriously now, I don't think he would do anything to us right here between a few hundred eyewitnesses."

"That's... a good point." Max was surprised she didn't think about it. _Well I guess I just like to freak out..._ "So why do you think this guy is looking for us then?"

"Beats me to be honest."

"Maybe he's just a fan of your story? Maybe he's even a journalist?" Kate considered. But Warren then retorted that he didn't look or talk like a journalist, more like a delinquent with all those tattoos.

"Ahh, c'mon Warboy, just because he has some tats doesn't mean he's a bad guy. I'm on the good side as well, am I not?" Chloe said.

"More like _Chaotic Good._ " Her girlfriend stated with an impish smile on her face.

"Thanks, geek..."

Right at that moment Max witnessed how Chloe's expression changed. Her mouth opened a bit, her brows narrowed and created a few wrinkles around her forehead and she scratched the back of her head yet again. She's clearly had an idea.

"Che?"

But the blue haired girl just shook her head. "No, just had a stupid idea about something." But before anyone of them could ask what it was the bell rang. The last few lessons were about to begin and while Kate and Warren wanted to go back inside, Max just stood there frozen on the spot. _I can't leave Chloe alone, right now. I won't take any fucking risks ever again._

"Sorry guys... Could you tell the teacher that I don't feel well? I wouldn't be able to concentrate anyways."

Warren wanted to protest but the blonde girl interrupted him before he could even do so. "Sure, I'm pretty sure Mr. Walker will understand that you need some more time."

"Mr. Walker? He's the substitute for... _him_?"

"Yep."

The freckled girl gulped. Even if she had never heard of this Mr. Walker before, imagining a lesson where a guy would stand where Jefferson once stood made her feel uneasy.

She was pulled back when Kate stated, "But be sure to not disappear again. If I don't get a text from you in the eve, I'll call the cops. Okay?"

Max couldn't help but smirk. Kate was such a mother. "Thanks. Text you guys later."

Kate and Warren said "Bye." one more time and left the two of them alone on the campus.

"And here we are again. Just the two of us."

"Wouldn't want it any other way, my partner in crime." Chloe playfully bumped her shoulder against the smaller girl's.

* * *

The two girls sat in the truck, still in the parking lot of Blackwell, and discussed what they should do next. Both of them thought that just finding the guy and confront him would be best, even if Max was scared that maybe _Death_ had come to steal Chloe from her once more.

Max then wanted to know what her girlfriend had thought about. "You had an idea?"

"It's really nothing."

"Just spill the beans already!" The freckled girl commanded while rolling her eyes.

"Well... I just know one person who would fit their description."

"Who is it?"

"... Frank."

For a moment the freckled girl was gobsmacked. "Frank? In a suit?"

"I told you it was a bad idea!" The punk tried to defend herself.

"We have to find him anyways so we'll find out if you're right. Apropos, why not start looking for him now? We still need to talk to him about Nathan and his drug problems. Maybe he can give an anonymous letter to the police or something? Let's drive to the spot on the beach he usually is."

"Sure thing!" Chloe started the motor and the two girls drove out of the lot.

* * *

As they drove through Arcadia Bay the brunette couldn't stop thinking about what would happen next. Last time she had seen Bowers she and Chloe ran away from him in American Rust. He was looking for them at the time, but since then he hasn't been around at all. _I never knew how he managed after hearing of Rachel's tragic fate... Maybe he's mad with anger at everyone... What if he just decides that all of it was our fault?_ But before she could go on with her somewhat irrational thoughts she could feel a hand on her tight. For a short moment the punk glimpsed over to Max and their eyes met. Chloe let a caring smile play on her lips before looking back at the road.

"Calm down, everything'll be okay as long as we stay together." Chloe said with such confidence that the freckled girl saw no other option but to believe her girlfriend. The brunette grabbed her girlfriends hand, kissed it's back and intertwined her fingers with the punk's.

Then, a few minutes later, they finally arrived at the beach and from afar the two girls could already see the RV with Pompidou sleeping right before it.

The punk figured that if Pompidou was there Frank wouldn't be far away either. "He loves the dog more than anything else."

They parked near the RV while leaving a fair distance between them. But as the bigger girl wanted to go outside Max stopped her.

"What's up? Wanna have a briefing before we go?"

"No that's not it... this all just reminds me so much of... Che you don't carry a gun right now, do you?"

The hippie was devastated when she only got a guilty look from the blue haired girl. "You can't be serious! Leave it here!" She demanded.

"No fucking way! What if he tries to hurt me, or even worse you? I won't rely on your super powers to safe us! You've been through enough already!"

Max knew that this was going nowhere. _Her arguments are the polar opposite to last time, and yet she comes to the same conclusion. How can she be so... Ahhh!_ Max was angry at her but before she could retort anything the punk already left the truck.

"W-Wait for me god damn it!" Max rushed outside, and stumbled over her own feet. As Chloe heard a dull sound behind her she turned back and was quickly there to help her up again.

"Hey... You okay?"

"No I'm not fucking okay! You have no idea how it feels to stain your hands with blood, don't ruin the rest of your life, you idiot!" Max scolded her.

But the bigger girl just responded with a chuckle. "You forgot one thing Super Max. You don't either. Not _here_." She responded with a wink. The freckled girl knew her girlfriend was right. No one was dead yet. In this timeline at least. But was that a reason to be risky now? Of course not! Somehow she just had hopped that David had changed the lock on the cabinet where all his weapons were stashed away. _Probably would have just slowed her down thought._

But before Max could raise her voice once more Chloe stated, "Just noting that we're having a fight because we want to protect each other. Pretty conflicting, don't ya think?"

After a short pause Max sighed, "I guess. Just... Just promise me to not play Clint Eastwood, okay?"

Chloe bent down and gave her girlfriend a swift kiss on the cheek. "I swear on my scout's honor"

"Che... You never where a girl-scout."

"I know." As the punk responded she started to go towards the RV. _I'm gonna kill her after this._

"Hey, Bowers!" Chloe yelled. Upon hearing the loud voice Pompidou stood up and carefully looked at the two approaching girls.

"That you Bulldog?" They heard a voice yell back from inside the car.

"Who else would meet up with you lousy ass!"

Max faintly pulled on Chloe's leather jacket to get her attention. "Let's not provoke him now Che..."

"Naaa, he knows I'm jo-" Mid-sentence the door was slammed open and a man came outside the RV. _Is that... Frank?_ Both girls thought simultaneously. His hair was... not dirty but combed, his beard was shaved and he wasn't wearing his leather jacket. He wore something one could call a suit. Not an expensive one, both girls could see that there was no comparison to Sean Prescott's, but still a suit. At first neither one did recognize him at all. "-king..."

"Hey..." He said as he petted Pompidou, who sat down again.

"Frank?..." Chloe asked in disbelieve.

"Yea, yea I know. Not the stereotype bad guy anymore. Things changed. A lot. I was looking for you two by the way." His eyes then darted to the freckled girl who was still a few steps behind the punk. "Hey there little girl. I think we've met once at the junkyard, right? Maxine Caulfield?"

"J-Just Max."

"Oh, okay Max. No need to dash away in panic again."

It was weird. He was being... polite. At least for Frank Bowers standard. Everyone seemed so... unchanged after Max had come back to prevent the storm, but it was like Frank got switched out with someone else entirely.

"You're not a terminator from the future, are you Frank?" The punk asked exactly what Max was thinking. And in response he chuckled. The brunette had never seen him laugh or even smile, before this day.

He then sat down on one of his plastic chairs next to the RV and pointed at the other once, "Let's sit down for this. Can you two guess why I was looking for you?"

Of course they could.

"Rachel Amber." It blurted out of Max's mouth.


	19. Rachel Amber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Finally caught up to the story on FF  
> Now you all will need to wait like everyone else :D
> 
> And just a quick announcement. This or the next chapter (depends on my work tempo for the next chapter :P) Will be the last for about a month :S Making vacation where I won't be able to write at all. Sorry about that :/

The big mystery.

The one thing Max would probably never truly be able to get behind. Did she betray Chloe? Did she use Frank? Was she hated? Was she loved?

So many questions which contradicted each other. Max only clue to rely on to form an image of her were the opinions of people who supposedly knew her.

Everyone had an opinion about her. A kind soul or a slutty whore, a intelligent brain or a naive cheater. Max had heard it all. But if Max was sure of one thing then it was that she knew that all those opinions were only an empty shell of what made Rachel Amber be Rachel Amber.

_But what does it mean to have an opinion about someone?_

It's nothing more than a shallow attempt to break a person down to what you want them to be. Angel, Muse, pretender, junk addict... A person, especially someone like Rachel Amber, wasn't one of those things. She kept parts of all of those opinions in her. But an opinion is the only thing that can make a girl like her tangible. Without them she would've been a stranger to each and everyone of them, and eventually even to herself. What is a person if no one has an opinion about her? Without everyone's idea of you, one would be nothing more but hollow.

 _But even if opinions are just lies we tell each other to hold back the fear of the unknown, we still need them._ Max knew that. W _e need them to find out who we really are. They are the A_ _rchimedean point of our personality. Every opinion someone has about us contains a tiny bit of truth. Every tiny bit of truth is a piece of the puzzle that makes out who we are.  
But only we ourselves can truly see the big picture behind it. Sometimes there is more to an opinion than it seems, sometimes less. But still, without them we would be groping in the dark._

Of course it was like that for Rachel Amber as well. That's why Max had such a hard time understanding the long deceased girl.

"But what did the geeky little girl personally think about Rachel?" You might ask. Of course she like everyone else had an opinion of Rachel Amber but to be honest she wasn't sure herself. For one she was grateful towards her because she was obviously the one who brought _life_ back into Chloe. She saved her beloved. But on the other side of the coin there was the ugly face of jealousy. She could have been what Rachel was for Chloe. _Should_ have been.

They would have had a normal life. They would have visited each other as often as possible, and eventually, Max was certain of this, fallen in love with each other anyways.

_Maybe there wouldn't have been a bathroom where Chloe gets shot. Maybe no Frank, no Jefferson... No storm._

The punk always said that Max and Rachel would have been besties, and who knows? Maybe she was right. But she also could not forget the fact that Rachel played with Chloe's heart. Even if she only used Frank, which was a terrible thing to do in of itself, it would have broken the blue haired girl's heart once more. Max couldn't forgive anyone who hurt the blue haired punk. Including herself.

* * *

As Chloe, Frank and Max, sat down to talk about Rachel Amber, she still felt somewhat angry. _Why couldn't she just tell me that she carries a freaking revolver with her?_ She inspected the man sitting before the two girls once more and decided that he wasn't a threat. For now at least. _He seems calm. Let's hope he stays like that._

Frank was the first one to say anything. "I want a funeral for her."

"Aren't Mr. and Mrs. Amber doing that anyways?" The punk asked in return.

"Fuck them. Fuck all of them. None of them knew her like we did." Frank said as he pointed at himself and Chloe. The silent brunette was certain that at least this was true.

"So you and her really..." Chloe asked with an somewhat accusing voice.

"I wasn't looking for you to have a fight about my, your or her feelings, Bulldog. I don't care about anything else but the fact that I genuinely loved her."

"I know... Sorry. So did I, you know?..."

A bang went through Max's chest. She knew that Chloe once had feelings for Rachel. The punk had never made a secret out of it. But it still hurt, knowing that Max wasn't the only one special for her. She would probably never understand how Chloe could still be so affected by her even after she dated Frank behind her back. She tried to ignore those thoughts for the moment and instead focused on the conversation again.

"You're right, we shouldn't fight. But I still gotta know, did you two... date?"

"Yes, and it was wonderful. And now... she's fucking dead. Because I'm a pathetic looser." The grown man suddenly broke down before the two girls. As he began to sob his head went a bit red. It looked like his whole face was wet from tears and snot, but he quickly pulled out a tissue to clean himself up. His dog was rubbing his head against Frank's and let out a concerned whimper, but the blonde man had already recovered himself and petted Pompidou.

"Hey... It was Nathan and Jefferson who killed her, not you!" The punk tried to soothe him. She felt bad for him, maybe not as much as she should, but there was still a feeling of sympathy for the man on the other side of the table in her.

"But someone has to take responsibility! He got the drugs from me, no one else. I gave him the weapon. An unstable psycho kid. And I knew he was dangerous, but I did it regardless for some fucking money... I've been a looser! That changes now! I'll work my ass off to be the man she deserves!" He yelled more at himself than any of the girls. "I'll get a job, and a lot of fucking money, without harming anybody ever again! So that she'll be proud of me up there!"

Chloe quirked an eyebrow. _Up there?_ She never knew he was religious, but didn't say anything either. _I shouldn't butt into something like this. If it helps him that's good._ She thought. "Now that you mention money... I got myself a job, I plan to give you back the money, just need some more time."

Now Max was the surprised one. _A job? When did she do that?_ Then she remembered that Chloe had stated that she had "things" to do. _So that's what you've been up too. Probably wanted to surprise me with it. Typical._

"I don't need your money." He made a denying wave with one of his hands.

"Dude, Frank, we're talking about a lo-"

The two girls winced when the ex-delinquent slammed his fist on the table they were sitting before. "I said I _don't_ need it! Didn't you listen? Threatening some teenage girls who made a stupid mistake, I'm above that shit now!"

"O-Okay, man. Won't force you to take my money. But you really should give up on the temper of yours."

"Ha! Pretty cynical to hear _you_ talk about _my_ temper."

"Ehh anyways...Um you want to arrange a funeral for her? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we can't get our hands on the body, that's for sure, but I don't know... maybe we could have make a memorial ceremony together? She deserves it."

"That's a wonderful idea Frank." Max suddenly said.

"Ah, so you can talk, Miss Caulfield."

"Just Max... And yes, I can talk."

He gave her a curious look. "So you're the girl who found her..." He reached his hand out so that the freckled girl could shake it, even if at first she didn't knew what he wanted from her. As her hands touched, she could see tears boiling up behind his eyes again. _It really destroyed him, didn't it?_

"Thank you... Max! Thank you so so much... Knowing she is gone... It feels better than not knowing if she left me for someone else."

The small girl patted his hands a few times before pulling back her own. "Funny, Che thinks so as well. That the uncertainty was the worst of it."

He let a sad laughter out of his mouth. "Yea. At least now we know she didn't bail on us, right Bulldog?"

After a longer pause the blue haired girl nodded. "Yea..." She didn't speak her mind, but still thought that W _ouldn't it have been better if she betrayed us? She would still be alive and kicking at least..._

He sniffed once more, pulled the handkerchief out of one of his pockets and sneezed into it. "So tell me, how do you two know each other, you seem quiet close. You Bulldog's new flame?"

"Hella forest fire." The punk retorted. Max slightly blushed upon hearing the 'compliment' of the blue haired girl. _Such a stupid way to fluster me..._ She couldn't help to blush but was still angry at Chloe.

"Good for you..." And after receive a skeptical look from Chloe he quickly added, "I mean it! Seems like you were able to move on."

"Frank I-" Chloe sounded apologetic but then got cut of by him again.

"Don't be sorry now. We haven't really talked in months Bulldog. It also wasn't yesterday that she vanished... I saw the sorry state you were in for the first few months. You were suffering, and then just pushed everyone away from you. But you didn't betray anyone." In her head Max agreed with Frank's idea of Chloe. _Pretty on point._

"T-Thanks... Dude this is so fucking weird." The punk finally stated. "I really need to get used to the more civil you."

And yet again Max was surprised by the faint smile Frank had on his face. "You tell me... She seems like a nice girl." He said as he pointed with his head towards Max. She knew that he meant it in a nice way, but somehow it felt not right for the freckled girl. _Yes me and Chloe are now together. Yes she once loved Rachel. But I'm not just a second price, am I? I'm not just some random chick that'll play the substitute for her._ She needed to clarify her feelings, but also knew that this could backfire really quickly so she tried to stay calm. While weakly trembling she said, "Che and me actually have been best friends since we were kids... Or at least until I left for Seattle."

Suddenly Frank jumped up. "You're _her_!? Now I remember!"

"Oh geez." Chloe groaned while letting her chin fall in one over hands.

"Your little girlfriend couldn't shut up about you and how she missed you!"

"Frank. Stop." Chloe demanded with a unexpectedly shrilly voice. Max could even see a faint red in the punk's cheeks.

But he just laughed the order off. "Even Rachel was jealous of you sometimes."

"W-Was she now..." And yet another puzzle piece in the big picture of Rachel Amber. Max had heard a lot about her, but never that she was jealous of someone else.

"Can you just shut up, dude?"

"Ha! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see the day Chloe Price was embarrassed!"

"Geez, are we just here to entertain you or can we actually stay serious for a moment..."

Max rolled her eyes and retorted, "Yea sure, as soon as it get's interesting."

"Oh, I got plenty more of those stories. There was one time she actually was so high she forgot to-"

"Frank! Max! Enough!"

"Sometimes the jokes's on you too, bulldog, you can't just blow up like that." But as Frank got a deadly glare from the blue haired girl he cleared his throat and said, "But to get back to why I was searching for you. A memorial ceremony it is then. I heard they want to hold the funeral next week already."

"Typical, they can't be fast enough, right?"

"Yea and none of us is invited of course." Right then Chloe saw the big question mark over Max's freckled face. _Oh, right Max doesn't know it._ "Her parents were some elite snobs who hatted us for hanging out with their daughter. That's probably part of the reason why she wanted to leave Arcadia Bay so badly, even if she never really talked to me about her family circumstances. 'She deserves better than you' they told me that to my face pretty much every time I saw them." Then her face suddenly became soft and sad. "And they were right... She would still... be alive."

Seeing the punk sad once more Max couldn't help but to try to comfort her. Even if she was still sulking about the gun. "Che, you just said it yourself. You're not to blame for what Nathan and Jefferfuck did. They're psychos!"

"I know, I really do... but sometimes I just, think to much."

"You were never the best when it came to that." Max said as she gave her girlfriend an ironic smile. She then thought that the mood had already gone downhill , so she could ask Frank for what the two girls came to see him. But before she did so she checked one more time if Chloe was alright. The blue haired girl looked saddened, but the freckled girl knew that 'looking sad' was the best Chloe could manage if the topic was Rachel Amber.

The brunette turned her attention back to the man sitting next to them. "Frank... We uhh... actually came to you for another reason."

"You did?" he looked surprised. The geek felt bad for Frank. She understood why he was so surprised. _The poor guy probably thinks that no one would want to go see a 'looser' like him. He's probably pretty lonely... Even if it's his own fault._

Chloe took over for Max. "Look, the thing is we might get a chance to mess Nathan and his Father up."

"And I can help with that?" The two girls could see that he was getting serious. His whole face now looked more like the old Frank Bowers. Contained anger was like a layer over his whole body. But he still explained with a calm voice that, "If there's even the slightest chance to destroy the fucker who fed his son thousands of dollar, I don't care what I have to do, I'm in."

For a moment Max was startled, but then reminded herself that the anger wasn't direct at anyone present at the table, but at the people who really were guilty of the murder of Rachel Amber, be it direct or indirect. "You are? Just like that? No offense but I'm surprised that you would help me, being a stranger to you, just like that."

His eyes started to evade the two girls as he explained, "Well, maybe I'm one to you, but I did some research on you Max Caulfield. You're like a hero to me to be honest. After all, you were the one who not just found _her_ , but also the one who went up against the star teacher and the millionaire son." He confessed with a weak blush in his face.

"Hey! Keep your fingers by yourself. That's posted property you're entering right now." The punk said, but both Max and Frank knew that she was just kidding. "The thing is,-" She then went on to explain their situation, "-Sean Prescott threatened us. We're supposed to help him clean his family name."

"Good."

"Good?" Chloe asked while one of her eyebrows quirked up.

"You're here, that means you won't go down without a fight."

"Exactly." Max said with a proud smirk on her face. "I won't let anyone ruin Chloe's future." She said with such determination that Frank was rendered speechless for a few seconds. _Even if she obviously still doesn't care much about it. Does she understand what could happen to her if she killed him? We still have the death penalty in Oregon after all..._

"Damn, you're scary, little one."

"I uhm take that as a compliment." She then cleared her throat and got back on topic. "We know you gave him drugs. If you could write something like an anonymous letter to the police or something, they would know that Nathan had intense drug problems, maybe they'll even test his blood if they find such a letter. Even if we would take the deal of Sean Prescott nobody could save him from those facts."

* * *

"Oh my dog, this was hella strange!" Chloe said once more when they were driving back to Blackwell.

"Right? But I gotta say I like the new Frank." _In a weird way he dealt with his loss and came out better than he was before._ But Max didn't want to say to the punk's face that there may be a positive butterfly effect thanks to Rachel's death.

For a second Chloe wanted to say that Max didn't know the old Frank, but quickly reminded herself that she actually did know him quiet a bit.

Frank was surprisingly eager to help the two out and said that he would call the police right away from a phone cabin. None of the Girls actually thought that they would find an ally in the ex-troublemaker, which made them even happier when they saw that he was actually happy to help them. When Max and her bluer half said they would need to go, he shook the freckled girl's hand once more and said, "It's the least I can do for you, Max. I can't say it enough, I'll always be grateful to you." There was a small pause before he then asked her, "But are you sure?"

"Sure about what?"

"If it doesn't work out you'll be the one who's head'll roll, you know that, right?"

"I-I know..."

He was right. She was pushing her luck. Maybe it really was better to just sign the damn papers and live in peace with her girlfriend. _But Chloe wouldn't accept that... She still wants revenge on them for Rachel. Sometimes she can be so god damn selfish. Just like the idea with the revolver. Yeah, just carry a freaking gun with you and don't think twice about telling me. That's cool..._ Max sighed in annoyance, and the driving girl quickly glimpsed over and asked "Everything okay over there?"

"Y-Yea. Everything's fine. I should probably write Kate and Warren before they mobilize the whole police force in Oregon to find us."

The brunette created a group chat with the four of them and wrote,

**Max: Everything's fine guys ^^**

**Kate: Still alive I see**

**Max: Do I hear disappointment? O.o**

**Warren: You might not have noticed but Alice corrupted her**

**Warren: He's evil**

**Kate: Don't you dare talk like that over my lord! ;) But now that he mentions bad people, did you two find this guy?**

**Max: Suit = good guy**

**Warren: Whaa? o.o**

**Kate: Gotta tell us when u decide to come back... next year?**

The freckled girl looked up and sighed. "Geez I never knew Kate could be this sassy."

"She can be a little devil if she wants to."

"Ha, ha, devil cause religious, very ironic."

"Oho, I think Kate is rubbing of on you already." That response actually forced a smile on Max's face, which didn't go unnoticed by Chloe. "Good, you can still smile." But the smaller girl didn't know what to make out of that statement and just looked confused. But then the blue haired girl elucidated. "Since you found out that I had David's gun you were pretty grumpy."

"Still am." She corrected Chloe.

"Oh, well, shit... I know it was stupid, but I seriously just wanted to protect you! None of us knew how Frank would be like, and I for my part didn't expect him to be so chill."

"That doesn't give you an excuse for having a gun, or for not telling me about it!"

"I didn't because I knew you would hate the idea, especially after what... The ' _other-me'_ did."

"It's not someone else if you and her do exactly the same stupid mistakes!"

Chloe angrily blew a strand out of her face, which was still focused on the road. "Excuse me? Stupid mistake? To protect the girl I love? Are you kidding me, Max?" But the freckled girl just looked out of the window, not wanting to discuss the gun topic any further. But after a few minutes the punk broke the silence again. "Talk to me..." Now again with a much calmer voice.

Max sighed once more, not out of annoyance but because she was actually angry at herself for getting so upset at Chloe. _Didn't I promise myself that I would always stay with her? It's certainly not the right way if I just nag at everything she does_. Her girlfriend had a good point after all. The smaller girl didn't knew what she could retort, and then finally decided to just stop being so sore. "Sorry for bitching at you Che..."

The punk snorted. "Dude, I can take it. And it's not like I don't get your point, really."

"I know... I just... saw how devastated you were after you... shot him. I didn't want to see you like that ever again."

"I love you babe, you know that?"

Suddenly flustered the geek asked "Where did that come from?" while thinking _Babe? So that's what you call me now? Could get used to it._

"Ouch! I'm trying to be honest with my feelings here. My wonderful and sexy best- slash girlfriend is worried sick about me, so how can I not love you?" Then her eyelids narrowed as she said, "And shouldn't you say something like 'love you too, honey' Or whatever names you hipsters give each other?"

"You're a dork... But you're my dork." Normally Max wouldn't want to disturb Chloe while she was driving, but right now she wanted to show that she wasn't angry anymore, so she bent over and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hmmm, maybe I'll need just one more peck before I can pardon you're behavior on my ship."

The smaller girl chuckled a bit and responded with a sweet voice, "There's still more from where that came from."

"Max Caulfied, are you trying to seduce me, while my hands are literally chained on the wheel?"

"Maybe a little." She responded as she softly bit her lips. Right at that moment she realized something. One of her eyebrows quirked upwards as she asked "Could it be that you were never worried about me being angry with you?"

"Naaa. I thought maybe you'll pout a bit, but you're cute when you pout..." The bigger girl shrugged her shoulders. "Well, you're cute whatever you do."

The brunette still didn't like the idea of Chloe having a gun, but she couldn't manage to be angry at her for more than a few moments and both of them knew that. But admitting that Chloe was her Kryptonite was too embarrassing. "That's so like you... And don't even try to butter me up. You really don't worry about me and you fighting?"

The bigger girl shrugged again while still looking at the road. They were close to Blackwell now. "You can't be angry at me. You hella love my punk ass way too much for that, don't you?"

The freckled girl rolled her eyes on the typical answer, but didn't know how to respond to Chloe's question, which wouldn't make her blush out of embarrassment. So she decided to try the ' _Price-tactic'_ and joke her way out of an awkward situation. "Hell, I would go back in time for you. Oh, uhh wait..." And it worked. The punk was snickering for a bit.

"Good one! Have to make a mind-note for that. Also now that you mention it, we, and with _we_ I mean mostly you, have been through too much."

"... You said it before didn't you? We both have our demons."

"We're not okay. Maybe never'll be. But we're not okay together! That's what important. Don't forget I'm your partner in time." Chloe reminded her girlfriend.

"As long as you're my partner in love."

"Awww staaaahhp it! Be careful you make me go all soft on you."

The freckled girl let out a sigh. "You managed that already." Hearing that made the driving girl smile. "I wish I could be more angry with you, but you're just too... too much yourself. You were right, I just can't hate you." The smaller girl admitted as she slid deeper into her seat and managed to be look even smaller than she normally was.

"Heh, told you so! But let's be real, you can't be angry at anyone at all. It's not your style."

"You've never witnessed me angry then. I can be fearsome!"

"Yea, like when I broke you're Wonder Woman action figure. You scared me shitless!"

"Wait. Didn't I just cry my eyes out because this was my absolute favorite?"

"Well duhh, I thought you would hate me for it!" Max gazed at her girlfriend and saw that the punk was really concerned. She just couldn't figure out if it was because she had trouble parking into a way to small spot with such a big and clumsy truck or meant what she just said serious.

She decided to ask the bigger girl. "You seriously thought that?"

"You loved that figure!" The blue haired girl tried to defend herself.

"But I would never give up my best friend because of some piece of plastic."

Suddenly Max saw a smile appear on her girlfriends face, that she couldn't quiet interpret. "I know! And you would never give up your girlfriend because of some piece of metal either."

"I... Uhh, fuck I played right into that one."

"You sure did." Chloe snickered.

"The thing is Che, what would you do if the worst case eventuated?"

"Well-"

"You could go to jail you know?"

"But only if they would catch me, right?"

"And you wanna risk that? Live a life always on the run?"

"Okay. That would suck to be honest. But I... Ehh..." For a moment said nothing and parked the truck in the Blackwell parking lot. She then let herself fall back in hear seat, took off her beanie and scratched her head. "I'll put the pistol back. I won't need it anymore anyway, right?"

Hearing that calmed the freckled girl immensely. "Good. I don't want you to ruin your future."

"I would gladly ruin my future to save yours though."

Max sighed once more. "Chloe Price! It seems you don't understand it. My future _is_ you. I want to stay with you forever, capisce?"

The punk slowly turned around to face Max as her mouth dropped open. Her blue eyes were wide open and jumping everywhere but the freckled face next to her. The hand scratching her hair was still on her head but the motion had stopped. She could feel how her face got warmer and warmer, and just knew that she must be blushing, but the blue haired girl couldn't help it. "Wha... Uhh... That's fine I guess?"

"I guess? Do you have other plans I don't know about?" The brunette asked with a voice which sounded somewhat worried.

"Max do you realize what you just pretty much just asked me there?"

"That I don't want to loose you again?"

"You can't be that braindead..." The punk facepalmed herself. "Babe, someday gay marriage'll be allowed in Oregon and I'll remind you of this exact moment."

Suddenly Max shrieked. "Marriage?!" Which let the punk giggle.. "S-shouldn't we first.. Ehh... Isn't it to soon? We've just been together for a few days after all! I mean... aren't couples normally doing some 'bonding and knowing each other'-stuff first?"

"We have known each other since we were kids Maxaroni..."

"But we... you haven't seen me for five years straight!"

"Yea, you're right. Maybe you've totally lost it!" She said with fake concern, as she put her hands in her head. "Who knows? You could have developed a second personality that wants to steal all my socks!"

"Rrriigghht." The smaller girl said as she freed herself from the seat belt, just like Chloe did right before her. "This has gotten awkward... fast."

"You're right about that."

"And as usual you don't give a damn about it being awkward!"

"What can I say? All the pod the last few years needed to be good for something, right?" She said with an impish grin.

While still being flustered Max thought about all of this once more as she gazed out of the window and watched the trees above them. At that moment she could feel her hand being gently grabbed by the punk. Her face turned around and their eyes met and were now locked with each other. Max noticed that Chloe looked... worried. Her brows were narrowed, and her lips were pressed against each other. Seeing her uncomfortable made the geek feel uneasy as well. But before she could speak her concern the blue haired girl suddenly said "I'm sorry."

"For what? Don't tell me it's still because of the Wonder Women figure..."

Chloe rolled with her eyes, yet she had a small grin playing on her lips "Ha ha, ass!..." She then took a breathe and said, "I didn't want to push anything on you."

The brunette nodded in understanding. "It was my own stupid phrasing that got us here in the first place." And after a short pause she used to collect her thoughts she added, "Marriage is a big word, isn't it?"

"Yea..." The punk responded with a small smile on her lips. Her fingers were now playfully running over the back of Max's hand until they finally reached the freckled cheeks and stopped their. Then her thump started going through the brown hair. Their blue eyes still locked onto each other, the punk then said, "Maybe it'll be ages before it's even worth saying the word 'marriage' but the thought of it containing _Max Caulfield_ excites me more than you can imagine."

She could see the punk bending towards her, but shortly before theirs lips connected she quietly said, "Heh, I knew it, deep down you're _hella_ sappy."

With a huge smirk on her face she then closed her eyes and let her face be led by the hand on her cheek until she could feel the familiar soft feeling of Chloe's red lips meeting her own. It felt like having a never ending fountain of happiness. Every time their lips met Max started feeling all giddy but in a good way. The geek wasn't very experienced when it came to making out or dating in general, so every time Chloe wanted to use her tongue to intensify the kiss, the small girl felt somewhat overwhelmed, yet she savored every second of it. And taking the reaction of Chloe in account, Max thought that at least now she wasn't doing such a bad job after all.

When their mouths departed from one another, their faces were still close to one another. The freckled girl opened her eyes and saw that Chloe still had them closed, also she had a stupid looking grin running from one ear to the other and even her cheeks were showing a little blush.

The punk took a long breath through her nose before opening her eyes as well. The first thing she saw were her girlfriend's white teeth, shortly followed by the freckles sitting on red cheeks. She also felt somewhat numb over her whole body. "Yep, definitely better than weed." But then the usual stomach twist was there again. Chloe knew that Max was a girl way out of her league, even if the small brunette would do everything to deny that fact. _She's beautiful, funny, kind and extremely talented._ _How can I possibly think about keeping pace if she's already miles ahead of me... Urgh!_

"What's on your mind, Che?"

"It's.. um... No, nothing important." There was no point in telling Max that she was a nearly perfect being in Chloe's eyes. She wouldn't believe her after all. _How can you be so hella unaware of the greatness that is you._ Even with the bad feeling inside of her, seeing the freckled girl so close to her she just felt like kissing her once more though. _Can't get enough of it after all._

Max was still worried about the blue haired girl, but when she saw that Chloe was moving in to steal another kiss, she couldn't lie to herself about wanting another one as well. _I'll just have to make her tell me afterwards._

First their lips just met for a short moment because both girls started giggling. Once more Max realized that the punk had a big spot in her heart. She couldn't stay angry if not for a really good reason. Then suddenly a long forgotten, and partially hated sound broke the moment.

**Bzz Bzz**

Her handy got a new message. "Just ignore it." Chloe said in a low voice sweeter than honey. And she tried to do so, but the handy wouldn't stop.

**Bzz Bzz**

The two girls had their eyes already open again and the punk groaned "Just look at it, the magic is gone anyways."  
Max couldn't help but chuckle a bit, and as she looked at her phone she saw that Dana had sent her a photo... of Chloe and Max... in the truck... right now.

"Urgh! That bitch!" She yelled as she looked around to see if she could find Dana anywhere. She would have to tackle the cheerleader about her timing later.

"Those are sweet though." Said the punk as she slit over and rested her head on Max's shoulder. "Send me this one." She pointed at one of the pics where they where patting rather intensely.

"You don't need pictures of me if you have the real deal." Max said with a smirk that screamed mischief on her face. The punk felt how a grin started to form on her face as well. _She's right about that._

"Still don't like the idea of you being one of the popular girls though."

"Me neither. Everyone just keeps starring at me, it's really strange." And then Max wondered how Rachel could've dealt with so much attention she got from everyone.

Chloe, obviously not knowing what Max was thinking about, curled her lips as she explained, "You were like a hidden treasure and only me Captain Bluebeard had the map for you!"

"Don't tell me you're jealous of the guys who stare at me." The smaller girl teased as she looked down on the blue head next to her face.

"Guilty of charge." The bigger girl moaned. _No reason to beat around the bush._ The blue haired girl thought. Right then she felt a shake go through Max's body as the geek started snickering. "Not funny! They get to see you more than me! I call foul play!"

"I like jealy-Chlo-Chlo."

"Don't you dare make that a pet name for me now!" But both of them knew that it was already to late for that.


	20. Recurrence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously don't know how this got so long again... Well this will certainly be the last Chapter for a few weeks, but after that *puts on Schwarzenegger voice* I'll be back!

Classes were already over, so Max decided to stay in the truck with Chloe for a bit longer. She had something on her mind she wanted to ask the punk anyway.

"So you got yourself a job?"

"Well..."

"Mirror mirror on the wall what job does my punk rock girlfriend has? And please don't tell me it involves some kind of crime syndicate." The geek asked as she leaned over, eyes full with curiosity.

The punk groaned. Once Max's nosy mode was activated there was no escaping from it. There was no other way than to spit it out, even if this was not how she planned it at all. "I wanted to do something for you like, uhmm, I don't know, buy you something nice like a new camera... Or ask you to out to dinner." She groaned. "Revealing it like that is so boring."

"It's alright. I had enough excitement for the next few years. So tell me, what do you do?"

"It's nothing special really..."

"Ahh, c'mon it can't be that bad."

"Nosy as always, just how I want my Caulfield to be. Sherfield? Caullock?... Hmm, remind me to come up with something better. Anyways, did you ever hear of the Bean Hip Cafe? I'm starting as a waitress there in about one and a half weeks."

"Heard of it? It's famous for their love of art! They always support people from around town..." Right at that moment a picture of a leaflet flashed before her eyes. Her head suddenly sank down, her lips tightened and her shoulders dropped. A particular name was written on it. _International Photographer Mark Jefferson._

"Max?" Worry filled the punk's voice as she lay one hand on the smaller girls shoulder and lowered her body to be able to face the smaller girl directly.

It was hard to hear the freckled girl at all because her voice was nothing more than a whisper when she said, " _He_ had an exhibition there once."

"Fuck." Chloe exhaled. She moved her hand around Max's back and pulled the geek into a hug, so that Max's head was resting against her chest. The punk could feel how two hands grabbed her waist and clung onto it. And for a few moments the two girls remained like that, while the blue haired girl stroke over her girlfriend's head.

The blue haired girl tried to sound as gentle as possible when she broke the silence. "That ain't the only job in the world. I'll just find a new one! Uhm, I Don't have to pay Frank anymore, so there's no pressure, right?"

Right after hearing that proposal the brown haired head lifted up so that it could face the punk. With a still anxious and yet stern expression on her face Max responded, "Don't want to ruin your first job..."

"You are _not_ ruining it! To be accurate it hasn't even started yet." The punk formed a small smile as she caressed the brown hair some more while their faces where now next to each other.

"Che..." The smaller girl said with a demanding tone in her voice.

The punk immediately understood that her girlfriend wasn't up for her usual side jokes. "Sorry. Listen, just don't hold anything back, okay Maxaronie? You know that you just have to say the word and I quit. You're the main quest. Always."

"Yea, thanks... I... I think I'm fine now. I really should be getting used to it..."

"No! No you shouldn't!" The punk retorted quickly with a strong voice.

The smaller girl smiled as a reaction to her girlfriends sudden deny. "Maybe you're right. But I can't let my fear control me either."

"Maybe. Or maybe I should just quit the job. It's really no biggie."

But the geek just shook her head. "I got... troubled when I thought about _him_ being there, not the cafe itself, you know? I was never there myself, I've no fucking idea how it even looks. It was just a little throwback to some good old anxiety." The brunette shrugged with her shoulders. "I've nothing against the cafe itself. In fact I would love to make a few shots of you in waitress clothing!"

But neither of them was convinced of what Max just explained. The freckled girl wasn't feeling great at all. _But I can't just ruin Chloe's first job in... well ever! I know that in another time line she wanted to go to college, looks like she now wants to start working immediately. That's great too! I should be supportive, not make her feel guilty about it..._ There was also this feeling of resisting her anxiety. She couldn't let _him_ control her life forever, could she?

"I know I'm repeating myself, but as soon as you want me to quit..."

"I get it." The brunette laid one of her hands on Chloe's cheek and the punk nestled against it. "I really do. But I won't let all of this shit get to me more than it has already!"

Then she suddenly heard the blue haired girl whispering, "I really don't deserve you."

Max's eyebrows narrowed in disbelieve. She wasn't sure if she just misunderstood her girlfriend, at least that was what she hoped for. But then she saw Chloe's face. Her gaze went out of the window, somewhere Max couldn't see because she was starring at her girlfriend, and her whole expression looked... pained.

"What did you just say?"

"Sorry, just, eh... Just forget it."

"No, Chloe Elizabeth Price, I won't. Did you say what I think you just did?" The smaller girl said as she straightened her back and now had a stern expression on her face.

Chloe sighed. In her mind she was cursing herself for letting those few words out. She knew that the inevitable was about to occur. "You're just too good for me, y'know? Like..." It was hard to admit for the punk, especially because Max didn't stop looking at her with such an upset expression.

"Like what?"

"Like you... Uhm... Could get better than me? I'm a hardcore punk and in addition extremely hot, don't get me wrong," Chloe sounded even unsteadier as she tried to force a laughter. "But If we just look at the cold hard facts, I got nothing at all... My future doesn't look bright like yours..." her eyes fell on the bottom of her truck.

"You're all I want Chloe..." Max tried to explain as she shook her head. She couldn't understand how those feelings could be lingering in the blue haired girl. Chloe seemed always confident if it came to their relationship, and with good reason too. She was her best friend. The one she went back in time for, over and over again. "There's no one else like you Chloe..."

"Maybe there isn't, but does that make it better?"

"Yes!"

"...But I'll just pull you down Max..." The brunette winced when she heard that. _She can't be thinking... about leaving me?_ _Shit don't tear up now..._ She thought as she could feel her eyes watering. If there was even the slightest possibility that her girlfriend was really thinking about breaking up Max needed to know. She needed to ask it. "Chloe, do you want to... break-" But before she could finish her question she got interrupted.

"Hell no! Oh god, you're the best thing that ever happened to me!" It blurted out of the blue haired girl's mouth as she quickly threw her arms around the geek once more. "Never!"

"Then why? Do you think I don't want you?"

"Right now you do maybe but ... what about let's say five years from now on? You'll have a great job I'm sure of that, but me? I don't even have any good fucking education..."

"Stop joking around Che." The smaller girl said as she once again pushed herself away from the bigger girl.

"I'm not joking at all. You'll get annoyed of me like everyone else. You'll need to leave me so that you can move on, and I can't even blame you for that."

"What the hell are you talking about? You're amazing!"

"Yeah, right... You just don't get it Max. I _will_ drag you down. That's just my nature. Dragging people down." The punk looked with disgust down at her own two hands. _I hurt you after all..._

But the smaller girl was getting angrier by the minute. She exhaled sharply through her nose. Where was all of this coming from? How could the punk seriously believe anything she just said? "Will you just stop it already? I don't give a damn if you'll drag me down, whatever that means."

"You don't do _now_... bu-"

"I said stop!" Max yelled at her girlfriend. "Wasn't I the one who's scared of the future? Just stop thinking about it already!"

"You want me to look over something so important? You can't be serious Max!"

"But it's not fucking important at all."

"To me it is!" Both of them were getting louder now.

"So _you_ decide for _me_ that I'll hate you in a few years? Because it's not like I still have my own free will. Maybe I need to remember you that _you're_ not the one with time powers."

"Exactly! You loved the other Chloe,-" Upon hearing that the brunette rolled with her eyes in annoyance. _Haven't we been through that already?_ "-then you projected her on me! But I'm not her! She wouldn't..." Suddenly Chloe's voice got weaker. "She wouldn't have hit you." For the punk the 'Other-Chloe' had become something like an abstract figure that was everything she was, but better.

That took the smaller girl by surprise, and both of them remained silent for quiet some time. Both of them couldn't look at one another, not knowing what to say. Then Max raised her voice, she couldn't just let her girlfriend hang like that after all. "Chloe... I already told you that it's fine."

"How can it be fine? I wanted to protect you, but instead I was the one who hurt you! With those hands! Who can say that I won't do it again somewhere down the road?"

"That's stupid! I know you would never do something like that!" Max said angrily.

For a few moments Chloe couldn't retort anything. She just had this pained expression on her face once again. Then the blue haired girl sighed and explained, "Frank and I are not that different from one another. Look, right now I... I'm not worthy of you." It was still embarrassing to admit it, but the punk needed to speak her mind. "That's why I was desperately looking for a job in the time you were at Blackwell."

Max's eyes widened as she heard those words. "Do you believe you're a better person if you work? Do you believe you feel less guilty if you're able to buy me something? Do you really think I'm so superficial that I'll leave you if you don't bring in the big bucks?" Now she didn't feel irritated by Chloe's words anymore, she felt rather offended.

"N-No! I just..." The punk was searching for words, while her eyes were nervously darting around the truck, but not once looking the geek into the face.

"I can't believe you really think of me like that. Or that I'll hate you someday..." Max said with anger and disappointment in her voice, before opening the door to step outside. _I seriously need to cool my head. I don't want to fight with Chloe at all, but she can't seriously think I'll hate her because of something as trivial as money. After all I've been through..._

"M-Max! Wait!" The blue haired girl shouted after her. But the smaller girl was already stomping towards the girls dorm while not looking back once.

* * *

Just a few hours later Max was in her room. She somehow managed to avoid all of her friends and could sneak into her room unnoticed. Now after going through their conversation endless times the brunette didn't feel angry because of what her girlfriend had said. She was still upset though, not just with Chloe though, but also with herself.

Max wanted to kick herself in the butt for multiple reasons. First of for leaving Chloe at the truck. Then for being so scared upon hearing that she was working at the Bean Hip Cafe. And last but not least for getting yet again so upset when Chloe just wanted to better herself, even if it was for such a stupid reason.

But she couldn't help it. It was to late now. This was one of the first times she was actually tempted to use her powers again. _I could just go back, and be much cooler about everything she said. I mean... She didn't say anything bad. In fact she's just worried of me leaving her someday... Even if that's pretty stupid, but hey who am I to talk about stupid anxieties? Just one rewind and I could..._ Max quickly shook her head to free herself from those thoughts. She had set one golden rule for herself after all. No more rewinds. Whatever had given her these powers wasn't a big fan of casually using them. Max had first hand experience of that. Even if she was missing the feeling of having the option to go back in time.

The geek was just lying on her bed, while pushing her pillow on her face. _I should probably text her or something... But maybe she's mad because I ran away... again. Why do I always repeat the same mistakes? It's like I'm in a constant loop of my own stupidity._

"Ahhhhhhh!" She let a muffled scream out, then removed the pillow and moved herself on the sofa to play 'Wonderwall' by 'Ryan Adams' on her acoustic guitar, so that she would get a bit distracted from all of this.

It did _not_ work.

Right as she wanted to lay her guitar back her handy vibrated and she nearly dropped the instrument. She needed a few seconds to fiddle her handy out of her pocket because she was so nervous, but as she turned her screen on she saw that it was just Kate writing in the group she created.

**Kate: SO meet up tomorrow so that you two can tell us about it?**

**Kate: We could grab lunch first :)**

**Warren: Maybe he was part of the MIB?**

**Warren: That's it! They probably got** **replaced by aliens who take over our government step by step! o.o**

First the brunette snorted at Warren's goofy text and then answered with:

**Max: Sounds like a plan**

**Max: Gonna tell u two tomorrow**

Then Max tensely waited a few moments to see if Chloe would respond, but there were no sings of life from the punk, despite the app telling everyone that she had seen the messages. She hesitate shorty but then typed:

**Max: When can you come over Chloe?**

But as soon as the message was send she was already regretting it. _Am I cereal!?_ _This was awkward as_ _fuck_! She stood up and moved towards her laptop. Maybe she could find some stupid videos on the internet that would distract her. But then her handy suddenly vibrated once more. The brunette felt so flustered at that time that she nearly didn't look on the screen. But then she saw that Chloe was the one that had answered.

**Chloe: Now?**

_Now? She probably thinks I want to keep our fight a secret or something like that. That won't help at all. Why did I even send such a stupid question right now? Like nothing happened!_

She scrolled through her social media sides and tried to ignore all the friend requests and messages she got since last week. _No I don't want to be your friends. No I'm not a hero, I'm just an idiot who can't behave like a normal human being towards the girl she loves_.

She shut her laptop down again and let out an annoyed groan. "Hey Chloe it's me, I just screamed in your face, but now everything is fine." She then parroted herself loudly.

At that she got a private message from the punk and nearly fell from the chair.

**Chloe: That so? Y'know the doors don't really block sound that well...**

"Wha... Don't tell me!..."

**Max: You're not seriously standing next to my door?**

**Chloe: Well I didn't know if I was allowed to come in**

The small girl made two big steps, which could be best described as jumps, towards the door and nearly teared it open.

* * *

As she saw how Max was going away everything inside of her screamed at her to follow her. But she didn't. She didn't know why at that time, but she didn't. She let her beloved girlfriend go away without even trying to stop her.

_She ran again... Can't blame her though. This time she has every right too. She was right, I did offend her. And that was hella stupid of me..._

The punk hadn't expected things to escalate that much. She knew they would have an argument about those thoughts, but to actually fight? It was not like the argument they had about the gun. That time the blue haired girl really thought that she was doing the right thing, but right now she wasn't exactly sure of that.

_Max is right. That's not how I usually am... Girl is driving me crazy._

Without having a real goal in mind Chloe drove around Arcadia Bay for about an hour before parking at the beach. It was slowly getting dark already. Sun was setting fast now, because the winter was coming. _I wish you were here right now. I could do such a stupid Game of Thrones quote._ At that suddenly a pang appeared in Chloe's chest. The little girl had already made a nest in her heart after all.

She sighed once, more leaned against her truck and watched the sunset being reflected in the waves. _What is it called again?_ "Shining hour?" _No, that sounds somewhat wrong._ The punk couldn't remember and soon gave up thinking about it. Instead she lit herself a grit and watched how the gray smoke stained the yellow colors of the scenery right before her.

She took one more pull and while letting sunlight shine on her face she tried to imagine how it would be if their roles would have been reversed in the fight, and immediately knew that she wouldn't have reacted much different. _I would be hella upset if she tried to buy something for me because of such a shallow reason, or if she would explain that I would leave her in a few years... I just don't want to loose her..._ The blue haired girl let out a groan and went through her mane with one of her hands, accidentally pushing off her beanie. As she reached down her cigarette fell on the floor and she let out a muffled "God damn it... Why can't she understand that I want to change! I want to be someone she can rely on, not someone who'll slow her down."

She stepped on the still glowing cigarette and went back in her car.

Chloe thought about stopping by Two Wales to see if her mother was still there, but than she reminded herself that Joyce wouldn't leave her alone if she saw her daughter right now. _She would be able to squeeze out every detail of our fight... Mom has better interrogation tactics than the FBI and CIA combined after all..._

So she drove all around town and before knowing it herself she somehow ended up on the Blackwell parking once more. She scratched her head and wondered for what reason she had come here.

But she couldn't fool herself for long. She wanted to be with Max. Chloe lit herself a doobie in hope that it would make it easier to get an idea of how she should apologize. As she took a deep pull from it she closed her eyes and let the smoke escape through her nose.

 _You don't need to think about what to do. You already know that you just fucking need to woman up, find her, and say that you're sorry, so what are you waiting for girl?_ The punk said to herself. _It's not like she hates you, she's probably still angry though._ Somehow the punk was fascinated by the fact that the smaller girl could make her feel so uneasy. She had fought with her mother and David over hundred of times, but never felt like that afterwards.. _I really love her too much, it's scary._

 _And the reason for our fights are just as stupid.._ She shook her head and let out a short chuckle. _I am stupid._ She slowly moved to the girls dorm, and as she was standing before the building the blue haired girl felt courage building up inside of her. With determined steps she made her way through the empty corridor and... halted before Max's door. _C'mon girl just go in there and say it!_ She scratched her head once more. _Say what exactly? Sorry that I want to improve myself for you?_

But right then her handy suddenly vibrated. Kate wrote something in the group chat Max had created...

* * *

As the door opened Max couldn't believe her eyes. Chloe was standing right before her. _Is this a fucking teeny sitcom?_ Was the first thing that came her to mind. She didn't know what to do, or what to say, but neither did the punk. So both of them just stood there for a few moments, awkwardly. Chloe was rubbing her neck, Max was playing nervously with her fingers, and both of them had their eyes locked on the floor.

Max was the first one to look up, and there she saw that her girlfriend had, just like the freckled girl herself, a stupid grin over her whole face. They both stared at each others grin in confusion for a few seconds, but then Max darted towards the bigger girl and slung her arms around her and threw her face in the leather jacket the punk was wearing. Chloe let out a "Uff." as the smaller girl crashed into her.

The blue haired girl started to chuckle, as a result of not expecting Max to hug her out of the blue. Then through Chloe's leather jacket the punk could hear "Let's not fight anymore." At that Chloe laughed even more but gave an agreeing "Mm." She started to stroke over Max's brown hair until the geek looked up, nearly hitting Chloe's chin with her head.

Their eyes gazed into each other and for a moment everything was forgotten. Where they were. What they had done. They just... felt.

Very slowly Chloe leaned towards Max's face until they were close enough that their noses touched each other.

"Still angry at stupid old me?"

"Haven't been angry after the first five steps I made out of the truck. I was just, well, too stubborn to admit it." The brunette confessed. "Let's go inside before anyone finds us, kay?" Chloe nodded and at that her hands got grabbed by the smaller girl and Max pulled her inside her room.

Chloe made a few steps inside, hearing the door clunk shut behind her, she was readying herself to discuss thinks through with her girlfriend, but suddenly something drove her and without really wanting to know why, she turned around and grabbed the freckled face with both of her hands. Max winced at first, but as soon as the punk's lips crashed onto her's Chloe heard a small sigh coming out of Max's mouth and then the geek visibly relaxed. A reassuring feeling flooded the two girls. There was no bad blood between them.

Max could feel how her girlfriends hands gently went from her shoulders down to her back. Thanks to the touch a shiver went through Max's body. Then the hands moved lower to her waist. Lower to her hips. Lower to her... The brunette jumped a bit but then grinned. "Grabby much?" Max asked as she pulled her face a few inches away so that she could see the punk's face again.

Chloe had one of her smug smiles on her face. "Needed to recharge."

Still holding on to each other, Max just shook her head and nestled her face against Chloe's shoulder while closing her eyes. Her hands were slung around the punk's waist, and she didn't care about anything else for the moment.

Then the blue haired girl broke the silence. "Why do we always need to fight before making up again? Can't we just be up?" Chloe realized that she loved the feeling of vibration created from Max's snickering body.

"I can smell the weed Che."

"Yea, uhm... Sorry."

"Don't be. That wasn't meant to sound accusing at all. Also we've been sorry enough for one day, amiright?"

"But I really am..." And the freckled girl understood that her girlfriend didn't apologize because of the weed.

"I should be the one though, Che. I ran away _again_!"

"Well, you did, but I said some stupid shit, so you had a reason to do so. You didn't ran _away_ , you just didn't want to be _offended_ by me... I know that you're not superficial at all Maxi."

"I know! I just... got angry and... I don't know." Max shook her head, not knowing what to say.

The punk grabbed her girlfriends shoulders and looked her deep in to the eyes. "I want to be a better person Max. For you. That's all I tried to say this afternoon."

"Then don't say shit like that I'll leave you someday. That won't happen, okay?"

"It's just that I'm fucking scared of that idea..." The bigger girl let out a big sigh. "Like, I literally am nothing without you Maximouse." The brunette could see a watery shine in Chloe's eyes. The punk turned her head away and then groaned. "Fuck I'm getting sentimental because of the grass."

"Uh huhh, right. That's the reason. Just admit it, you're hella mushy sometimes." The geek said as she drilled her index finger in the bigger girl's shoulder.

"No. Can't be true. All those years... I've lived a lie?!" She tried to sound indignant and both girls chuckled a bit.

Then Max tried getting back to the serious portion of their talk. "You know what I've been through Che. Did you ever think about how it would be for me if you left me?"

But the bigger girl just snorted in disbelieve. "C'mon, we both know I'm hella clingy and also why should I leave the most amazeballish person, going by the name _you_..." She then noticed the telling expression of her brown haired girlfriend. Chloe's brows narrowed and she needed a few moments to understand. But as she started to get the meaning of Max's gaze she rolled her eyes and she said "Yes, yes I got it, pretty snarky of you. We're in the same boat... But Max, you've got talent and I don't want you to waste it because of me."

"Then tell me, how will I waste my talent, saying that I even have such, if I'm with you?"

"You, uhm... Well..."

"Thought so."

"It's just a feeling I have sometimes..." Chloe confessed, eyes falling on the floor, but one of Max's hands instantly reached out for the punk's cheek, and directed Chloe's gaze back to her own eyes. "I would have killed a whole town for you. Literally."

The bigger girl was quite overwhelmed by that statement, not knowing what exactly Max meant, but still could tell that she was being sincere right now. "Max, I... I'm just an idiot for thinking like that." The blue haired girl knew that there was no real reason behind her anxiety. "I just... got so used to the people most important to me ditching me... And I'm not trying to blame you or anything I just..." Max gave her girlfriend an understanding smile. She was right, after all Max was part of the reason why Chloe was so scared of people leaving her.

"That's anxiety for you. It doesn't need reasoning or a trigger. It's just there and sucks."

"I just think... Gee, I probably shouldn't say that but I don't think I can promise you for sure that I can stop those thoughts from haunting me. I'll try, but I can't promise."

"Oh, I can relate to that, trust me!" The geek wanted to be as honest as Chloe was right now. "For a moment I wanted to rewind time so that I stop myself from bitching at you in the truck. I'm still scared as hell from my own decisions..."

"That's... Well, I guess it's understandable."

Max sighed and shrugged with her shoulders. "Problems tend to grow bigger and bigger sometimes, but there'll never be a pin to pop them. You just have to live with them."

Chloe nudged her girlfriend. "Getting all pseudo deep on me now? But yea, I get what you mean... I think."

"Chloe?"

"Yes?"

"Let's be honest to each other from now on okay?"

"Didn't we try that already?"

"I mean honest like... brutally honest. If you ever think about something like me leaving you, just tell me. And I'll tell you if I have some stupid ideas in my head as well. Deal?"

"Hmhm!"

"That also means, no more gun action without you telling me about it, you understand that?"

"Urghh, where's the fun in that? Oh, ehh, I mean yes master!"

"You're such a dork sometimes."

"And you love it."

Max couldn't disagree with Chloe's statement, but just sighed, and let her body fall on her bed. "I really need to stop nagging at everything you do."

"Yea. It can be annoying sometimes."

The brunette used her elbows to lift her upper body up so that she could see the punk who was standing before her. "Brutally honest, heh. Honest-Chlo-Chlo."

The bigger girl frowned at this pet name, while taking her leather jacket off. She threw it on the sofa while saying, "Like with the gun a few hours ago. I know, I know, you just wanted to protect me, so I don't really mind. You're adorable when you try to protect me." The punk let herself down next to her girlfriend's left side and let Max use her right arm as a pillow.

"Annoying, but adorable?" One of Max's eyebrows quirked upwards..

"Didn't I say you're always adorable? Even if you try to lecture me. A bit like the human version of Navi."

"There's the typical Price logic again." The smaller girl turned her head to the left so that she could face her girlfriend. "I love you."

"Who doesn't?" For that she got a playful nudge against her sides. "Ehh, I mean love you too, babe!"

"Dork!"

"But you know, we never fight for the reasons other do. Normally, when for example David and I have a fight, I want him out of my face, but with you..."

"... It's actually quiet the opposite?" Max finished her girlfriend's sentence with a small agreeing smile on her face.

"We just worry to much about each other, I guess?"

The freckled girl still smiled at her girlfriend, she was resting on. "We really have issues, don't we?"

"Not okay, together?"

"Forever and ever!"

For a few moments the two just smiled at each other in silence. But then the smaller girl witnessed how Chloe's grin turned into one that screamed mischief. The punk felt like she needed to lighten up the mood. Aside from their fight this had been a good day after all. Max and Chloe were now officially together, and hopefully no one would gape at the geek anymore. Frank was actually not just willing to help them, but also didn't care about Chloe's debts at all. She didn't want to end such a great day with such sour taste. So, to prevent that from happening, she did what she was best at. Goofing around.

She used her free arm to tickle her girlfriend in her sides. At first Max winced and tried to escape, but Chloe didn't give her a chance to do so, and used her body to lock Max on the bed. The geek was struggling for some time, but then started to go in the offensive as well and after some fidgeting Chloe found herself lying on her back and the smaller girl was lying atop of her. _How did she..._ But Max had always been evasive. It was hard to get hold of her small body.

Now, grinning because she had beaten the punk once more, Max held Chloe's upper arms down so that she couldn't use them anymore. Both of them needed a break anyway so that they could catch some air.

The freckled girl was still breathing heavily from all the screaming, laughing and scrambling, while her eyes were closed. The punk on the other hand couldn't move her eyes away from the girl lying on her. Max's brown hair was falling in her face, like it was a veil that tried to hide the beauty behind it. Her freckled cheeks were red from the exhaustion, and maybe also because of all the physical contact between the two. She was a real... "-Sight for sore eyes..."

"Hmm, I guess, I'm adorable when I win?"

"No, right now you're a tease."

"A-Am I now?" Max tried to hide her shyness behind a smile that popped up when she heard the sudden compliment. _Chloe has gotten pretty good at flirting, hasn't she?_ Her blue eyes wandered back to the punk she was lying on and upon seeing Chloe's impish grin she felt a desire to show her girlfriend just how much of a tease she could be. She slowly, slowly lowered her body until they where face to face. While never loosing eye contact she softly gave her an Eskimo kiss. Normally the bigger girl was the one who was more offensive so this was total new sensation for Max to... have control over what was happening.

The punk felt how Max's lips touched her's once. Then a second time. A few more soft, quick kisses followed. The blue haired girl wasn't sure if she would have been able to hold it for just one more second, but then the smaller girl pressed her mouth against Chloe's who let out a small moan in return. The punk could feel how her arms finally got freed as Max grabbed Chloe's face, after pushing the beanie from the punk's head. The bigger girl immediately brought her hands on her girlfriend's back and pulled her deeper into the kiss.

Max felt like trying something new. She moved her lips away from her girlfriend's, who frowned for a second, and instead attacked Chloe's neck. _Is she trying to give me a hickie!?_ But the only thing that came out of the blue haired girl's mouth was a faint "Amazeballs..."

Both of the girls slowly felt how a feeling overtook them. A mixture of desire, happiness, warmth, and also a bit of emptiness that only their partner could fill.

Chloe's hands slowly moved all over Max body, sending shivers all through her body. Max on the other hand, wasn't as experienced as the other girl. She felt somewhat clueless what to do with her hands, so for most of the time she put up with just going through the other girl's blue hair. But at some point their touching, wasn't enough anymore. Max was insecure, and a bit scared but she wanted this. She wanted Chloe. So instead of waiting for the punk she started pulling her t-shirt over her head and-

Suddenly the punk stopped her.

 _Huh?_ Did she misinterpret the mood? Did she manage to mess up again? A wave of panic overcame the geek but when she heard Chloe's soft voice speaking it quickly disappeared again. "M-Max... This was hella wonderful. You're amazing..." The punk still needed to catch her breath.

"...But?"

"I, ehh... I... You... You know where this would be going if we went further, right?"

"Well, I hoped you would show me..."

"Geez, don't make it harder on me than it already is, Caulfield! This would've been your... first time... and I don't want it to be like that."

"I thought it was wonderful?..." Max asked rather confused.

"Ohh, trust me, it was! I just... Well, I, uhm, promised myself that I would make it special, y'know? Our first time..."

 _So that's what bothered her._ Hearing that took such a load off the smaller girl's mind that she started to chuckle. "Wowser, for a moment I thought it was because of me."

"God no! You..." The punk started to blush. "You were... _are_ perfect. It's just that I don't want this to be... 'Reconcile-Sex'? Look what you do to me, god damn it! Don't you dare to think I don't want to eat you right now!"

At that Max blushed as well and let her head fall on the punk. "It's fine."

"I-It really is?"

The smaller girl looked up to her girlfriend and put on a bright smile. She wasn't disappointed or anything. It was quiet the opposite actually. "I'll wait." Max shrugged. "I'm actually happy that you want to put so much effort into creating something wonderful for me... So give you're best and _sur-price_ me!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> I felt like getting back to some older problems between the two. Sadly issues rarely are solved just by talking about them. People need time to adjust. Those two didn't have that yet. Just some insight to why I wrote this chapter like I did :p
> 
> And as always if there was anything you guys liked/dislike I'm eager to hear about it!


	21. A normal(?) Monday morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally able to release something again! Geez, the last few weeks have been funny, but I had even less time than I expected I would have :S
> 
> I started a new job about a week ago, so that'll obviously eat some of my time as well, so releases will be a bit later than they used to be, sorry about that <3

There were hands grabbing her, pinning her down but she still felt so hazy that she couldn't bring herself to fight back at all. There was also this weird pain in her neck.

She heard something that sounded like rain and a strong wind blowing in the tree leafs. Waves of a wild ocean. Voices of the people she lost hissed her name.

_"Max. Are you happy now?"_

She was supposed to feel guilt, but instead there was just emptiness. A dark grey inside and outside of her. It was like her feelings were a layer over her eyes. Only grey everywhere.

* * *

As Max opened her eyes, there was the nostalgic blue. Blue hair. Blue hair that she loved, belonging to the person she loved even more. The hippies eyes blinked a few times as she realized that she was in her dorm room and not some twisted reality created by her nightmares.

The arm, Chloe's head was resting on, felt a bit numb, but the brunette didn't mind at all. Normally she would be the 'little spoon' but it looked like this time Chloe had nestled into Max for a change.

_Nothing comes close to waking up next to her. Fuck my nightmares, this alone is worth like a billion nightmares at once._

After their... whatever that was last night, Chloe had convinced Max that it was safe to stay the night with her.

"Can I be sure that you won't have a chance of heart as soon as you see me sleeping next to you, miss you-need-to-have-patience?"

"Oh, come on Max! Do you really think I would jump at you in your sleep?" Chloe asked but only got a quirked eyebrow and an cynical smirk as an answer. "Okay. _Maybe_ I would. But I _hella_ won't! Do you seriously want to let your girlfriend to leave in the middle of the night?"

"Ohhhh, so that's what this is about. You're just being lazy."

The blue haired girl put one of her hands before her mouth as she tried to sound offended. "You're accusing me of the terrible sin of sloth? How dare you!"

Max snickered while giving her girlfriend a nudge. "Are you sure though? What if David finds you here?"

"Hmm? So he just bursts into the girls dorm sometimes? And especially in your room, to be exact?"

"Duhh, like aaallll the time! I needed to repair my door like four times already, because he kicks if he feels like it! Sometimes he even comes crashing through the window, you know?"

The blue haired girl rolled her eyes while a smile appeared on her lips. "He probably already heard about what I did to you on the campus anyways."

"You mean the assault like kiss you gave me on campus."

"Don't badmouth my great kissing skills now!"

Max showed an impish smile and said, "There's only one way to shut me up." And as commanded the punk shut her up... with her lips. A shorter kiss than before, but still just as wonderful in Max's opinion. As their lips departed she was already missing the sensation again.

_Ahh, being corrupted is so good. Hella good!_

"With all that sassiness you're making the waiting even harder, Maxaroni."

The brunette blushed upon hearing that, but still retorted with a shrug, "Hey it was you who pulled the chaste card, not me."

"Ouch... But yeah, you're right. Despite what everyone say the first time still should be something special. Especially for someone like you."

"Like me?"

With a high pitched voice Chloe suddenly tried to imitate her girlfriend's voice. "Me? Cute, smart, talented, best friend since childhood, and oh also a time traveler. But special? Me?"

"Dork!" Max said as she gave the giggling punk yet another playful nudge.

And now they were lying in Max's small bed, cuddled together so that Max didn't need to fear to fall out of the bed, being on the outer side of the bed.

_Chloe the thief stole the wall side before I even had a chance. Probably better though, I'll stand up before her after all. She said she would try go out of my room after the morning chaos of everyone trying to wake up, so that she won't need to answer any questions of why she was in her girlfriends room. Also that'll lessen the chance to run into David._

Max sighed upon thinking about her girlfriend's stepdad.

_Even if she still can't stand him, it has gotten better... Or at least I hope so?_

As she tried to move her hand from under the blue haired head she noticed that something was suspiciously close to her chest area. A hand with blue fingernails. She narrowed her eyes and stared at it for a few seconds. She then let out another sigh and a smile appeared on her face.

_Is groping me becoming your new hobby now?_

Even if she didn't mind the physical contact as much as she maybe should, it was still weird for the freckled girl. After all before Chloe there had been... no one at all. Of course here and there she had thought that someone was pretty, be it boy or girl. But she never even imagined herself kissing someone, not even speaking about sexual intercourse. There had never been someone as special as Chloe. And how could there be?

_Dad found it always amusing how I would pout after he picked me up from her house, and laughed it off like it was nothing. But... looking back in retrospective I may have had a crush since back when we were kids. Would explain my missing interest in topics of love, or why I was so scared to call her when I moved to Seattle. Anxiety of rejection. Whenever I didn't want to talk about boys or love in general Kristen always_ _nagged that the only thing I had space for in my heart was my camera... But photography was also one of the few things that reminded me of her._

The freckled girl blinked a few times, and felt baffled upon realizing that her feeling for the girl still sleeping next to her were probably way older than just one week. _Or two._ Her childhood friend was the first in so may things. First best friend, first love, first _lover._ Just after a week of dating Max was already at the point where the closer the two of them were to each other, the more she would despise the layers between them.

After a few more minutes of savoring the comfort of cuddling, she forced herself to stand up. With an inner groan she removed herself from the bigger girl and thought about what she had said last night.

"Wanting to make it special, hmm?" Max said out loud to herself.

 _Not gonna lie, it moved me when she explained why she stopped me. I felt... special? Ha, and she claims she's not good at this mushy stuff. Feels more like she mastered it already. I just hope I'm worth all the effort she is making..._ Right after thinking those thoughts she let out an annoyed, "Geez!" Max and Chloe just had a fight because the punk said stuff like that and now a few hours later, Max was doing the same thing.

 _She would probably scold me when she knew I'm questioning her choice of me being her partner in crime. Just like I did. Guess we'll have to accept that we're both idiots for falling in love with someone we don't deserve._ She slightly shook her brown haired head and the smile returned to her face.

Her eyes wandered to the clock on her night table and her smile disappeared once again. She had not much time left until class would start. An annoyed "Ughh." escaped her lips as she tried to stand up to find some clothes to put on, while deciding that she wouldn't have the time to shower today.

_Guess I'll have to do that after school then. I fucking hate going dirty in the day though... Fuck Mondays!_

When she was ready to go her eyes wandered once more to the girl in her bed. The freckled girl groaned once more over the fact that she couldn't snuggle into the bed again and tried to be content with just watching how air went in and out of Chloe's mouth in a steady rhythm. The freckled girl thought that,even if it sounded weird, it created a feeling of reassurance when she saw how her girlfriend was breathing. Like it was the assurance that the punk was alive. Max still felt like she needed to make sure that the punk was alive. And Chloe was. Everyone was after all. This timeline was like the happy end for everyone.

_Well except for all the the trauma and nightmares..._

The hippie bent down to give her girlfriend a quick peck on the forehead. Right after she did so Chloe grabbed her pillow and nestled her head into it. Max could hear a faint, "Not yet, mom..." and needed to hold a laughter back, which got even harder when she saw that the blue haired girl was drooling in her sleep.

"Yurk, Chloe slobber." The brunette said out loud.

_Now my pillow will reek of Chloe-drool... Because Chloe-drool is great after all... Maybe I'll even build an altar for the pillow and hide it in my closet... Ah! I should probably leave her a note or something._

And so she did after finding a dispensable piece of paper.

**"TYL my sleeping beauty and don't get caught by the step-dragon wandering this lands."**

In haste Max tried to doddle a dragon, but gave up soon enough.

_Drawing was never one of my strong points. Where is Daniel when you need him?_

* * *

Max made her way outside the girls dorm and with quick steps she moved towards the main entrance, not wanting to miss her English lesson. Moving past some students she could still feel the gaze of them behind her back.

_If this is how Rachel felt all the time... Geez, I would've gone nuts..._

Right when she entered the school building she spotted something weird. Brooke and Warren arguing over something next to Brooke's locker. Over all the noises in the hallway she couldn't really understand what it was about, but then the two of them saw her as well and Warren suddenly rushed over to where the freckled girl was. For a moment the small girl expected him to invade her private space again and subconsciously had her hands already prepared to defend herself, but he didn't try anything at all, instead he looked kind of ruffled. Max also noticed that Brooke didn't have her usual annoyed expression when Warren talked to her.

_He adjusted pretty quick... Well maybe he already expected to be shot down after how I treated him most of the times. And it seems Brooke did finally accept that I won't try to steal him away from her or anything._

"Hey Max, got time for a weird question real quick?"

"Uhm? Okay, I guess?" The brunette answered, while not really being sure what all of this was about.

_He took the thing with Chloe rather well, but I still think I kind of hurt him... On the other hand it would've probably hurt him even more if I let a freaking storm destroy the whole town... He probably has a few questions about Chloe thought._

"What is better for a speed run? The Uchigatana or the Balder Side Sword?"

"Huh?" For a moment the brunette was dumbfounded by the question Warren had asked her. It was obviously not about anything romantic. Or at least she believed so. "What the hell is a bladder sword? Wait, is this one of those disgusting internet videos? If so, forget that I asked anything!"

He faked a gasp and shook his head. "I can't believe you call yourself a hipster nerd if you never played dark souls before!"

"For the record I never call myselfa _hipster nerd_... But well, I've heard about it, it's supposed to be really hard, right?" She retorted with a shrug.

"Naa, it's harder than most games today, but not too hard either." Brooke had come over to join their conversation. "Warren has a copy of the game you should really try it sometime. Maybe play it with this punk girl together? Me and Warren always switch once someone dies, it's pretty funny actually."

_Hmmm. Gaming dates? Nice going Brooke._

But still, somehow this felt weird. The last few days had been all about time travel, death, love and stopping evil for Max and now just having a conversation about a video game... overwhelmed her. She didn't know what to say. The freckled girl was so dumbfounded for a moment that she started to laugh at herself.

_Once all of this is over... maybe I can return to my hipstery nerdy life I once had... with extra Chloe as the main dish. Just need to find something in Wells's office like last time. It'll show the police that Nathan's father may not have been part of the dark room but that he's at least a corrupt asshole. He did say that without his funding there won't be a girls dorm, but I honestly don't believe that after thinking about it again. Now more than ever Blackwell is going viral for what happened last week. That means a lot of people are probably interested in investing in it. His threat about the Two Wales on the other hand... No, he needs to be stopped either way. A person that vile shouldn't have so much power._

"The question is simple. Slicy slice or stabby stab against a bunch of zombies?"

"I ehh- I would pick the stabby I think?"

"What? Why?"

"Well you just need to destroy the brain, don't you?" That simple answer made Brooke and Warren snicker.

"That's not how the game works, Max." Brooke then clarified.

"And how should I know that?"

But Warren didn't even listen to Max question. "Do you know how low the drop rate of it is? I would farm for days before getting it!"

"And you would still get back the time because Balders is so fucking godlike!"

But before she could listen to the rest of the argument, of which she didn't understand one word to be honest, the bell rang. Suddenly Brooke looked like she just realized something. "Wait a second, Max. What are you doing here?" The nerdy girl asked while getting her books out of the locker.

"What do you mea- Oh, fuck, don't tell me Mrs. Hoida is still absent?"

"Wells said that she'll be back next week." Brooke responded with a shrug.

"Great. I just wasted a healthy doses of sleep." The brunette groaned as she facepalmed herself.

_Should have listened to my primeval instincts and snuggled more with Che..._

"If you got time why not fill your lack of gaming knowledge. If you want to you can go to my room and play it for a bit." Warren suggested. "Just don't delete my saves."

"Sure, if you don't mind me entering the sacred realm of yours."

"Pff, you've been there like what? A hundred times? No, I don't really mind." Warren said before waving and leaving with Brooke in tow.

 _He's still a good friend, isn't he? Maybe I'll really just do as he said and try that game out, it's not like I've anything better to do before my next class starts. Chloe is sleeping anyways, and I don't think It's a great idea to talk with David alone. Should wait for_ _my little punk to make up and then after class we could ask him if we can catch him alone. Even if we planed to ask him tomorrow at the Price house, maybe we can be even faster than we planed. The early all of this is over the better._

* * *

As she entered Warren's room, she sat herself on one of the pillows which were lying on the floor, and turned on the TV which was connected to his gaming consoles. Max quiet liked his room, but it was nothing one wouldn't expect when seeing the nerdy boy once. A bed, a computer, a bookshelf with nearly every book of Asimov, and said TV.

The freckled girl always liked to get lost in all kind of things. Movies, books, games or even music, so letting herself go in a new game for an hour didn't sound too bad.

_Well that's what you expect from a storybook-introvert, right? Okay, let's be careful in the main menu now, or Warren won't let me play his games ever again._

The game started with a weird cutscene. The brunette didn't really understand anything which was said in there. Something about dragons. Afterwards a character creator popped up with a lot of options. After about ten minutes she had decided on a character. Female, big, strong, pale skin, short blue hair...

I _know, I know, but a game with Che as the protagonist can only be good, right?_

But when the game finally started she wasn't amused anymore at all. Her Chloe-like warrior was dead. Well, undead, but it was still somewhat disturbing to see a zombie version of her lover. At first it was just weird, and she ignored it for the most part and focused on the game. Of course she got killed a few times by the first boss before understanding the trick behind it, and as she finally finished the first area, which was frustrating in itself enough, she had died many times over.

That in itself wasn't a problem either, but in this game it seemed that there was no game over screen. One just started from the last bonfire and had to do the whole level from the beginning, with all its traps and enemies. And if she failed she needed to start from the gameplay. Until she died again. And started from the beginning. And died again... This created a nostalgic yet bitter feeling inside of her.

_Wandering around without knowing what the hell is going on while just trying over and over again to not make any mistakes... Fuck it, I can't even enjoy a stupid video game anymore._

Right at that moment her Handy vibrated and she saw that Chloe had written her a message.

**Chloe: Where's my white knight at? Isn't ur English Prof still sick?**

_So even she remembered..._

**Max: You're knight waits in another castle. Warren's room. Wanna come over? It's room 109.**

**Chloe: On my way babe**

**Chloe: FYI gonna steal the step-dragon idea so hard.**

**Chloe: Kind of jealous that I wasn't the one who came up with it.**

It just took about five minutes before the punk arrived at her room. A knocking sound announced the punk and the door swung open and revealed a grinning Chloe Price in all her glory.

_She did find Warren's room faster than expected. Well she was attending here once so maybe not._

But as soon as Chloe's blue eyes found her girlfriend her expression changed. Her eyebrows furrowed together and her eyes were suddenly full of worry. Her head slightly tilted to one side as she asked, "You okay, Maximus?"

"Uhm. Good morning to you, too?"

"Sorry, but you look kind of ruffled... Please don't be mad at me anymore." The brunette was surprised because she heard genuine fear in Chloe's voice. It seemed that the bigger girl was still worrying, while Max on the other hand had already kind of forgotten the fight they had yesterday.

"I'm not! Chill Chloe. Everything is fine..."

The hipster girl could see how her girlfriend calmed down immediately after hearing those words. Her shoulders relaxed, and her mouth could form the usual small smirk again. But one eyebrow was still quirked upwards. "C'mon girl, if it wasn't my fault, then what upset you?"

Max sighed. It was kind of embarrassing to admit that a video game could trigger her like that, so she just pointed at the TV in front of her. She was surprised when Chloe suddenly snorted. "Don't tell me you're mad because it's to difficult for you."

"No, that's not it... It just... The character just died again and again, and it seemed as if the world didn't remember that he did." Max answered while pointing at the game. The punk needed a moment but then started to realize what her girlfriend tried to say. Chloe's facial features became softer and kind of sad.

"It reminds you of yourself..."

"No. Not really. It's more of a reminder of how I was dealing with _you_. Well, the other you. The one who died over and over again. I mean you've read the journal for the most part... Train, pistol or overdoses of morphine..." _Or your own free will..._ "And I just rewound to the last safe spot. It's kind of ridiculous to get so emotional over a game, I know."

But the blue haired girl immediately embraced the smaller girl after hearing that. "No it's not at all. You saved my life, how can that be ridiculous?" Chloe said reassuringly.

Max's head rested laying against the bigger girl's shoulder now. "Is it weird if I still want to finish the game? I... I feel like I need to see it to the end. Like I did with you. And now we're here. In my... In _our_ happy ending."

"No, not at all. Damn, I've heard that Dark Souls breaks people, but never that it triggered an emotional break down. Fucking scary that game."

"And is it weird that my player character looks like you?"

"What? Well, that's kind of awesome, but definitely not healthy for your trauma."

"Trauma... Never expected to have something like that..."

"It was probably the universe trying to bring balance to your otherwise perfect being." Chloe said with a playful wink.

 _Here she is again, with her Price-humor. It's helping though._ The brunette thought as a smirk crawled over her lips. "Mushy-Chlo-Chlo?"

"I warned you, Caulfield. This is not going to be a thing now!" The punk said while waving with her pointer in front of the freckled face.

"I think the right way to phrase a fitting answer is that it _hella_ will."

"God damn it." The bigger girl let out a sigh, but was in fact happy that her girlfriend was cheering up again. Chloe's arms crawled behind Max's back and pulled her towards herself once more. As she buried her face in the soft brown hair she asked, "Soooo, can I play myself?" and just a few seconds later added, "Uhu, that sounded kinky!" and could feel the hipster in her arms let out an amused "Pfff. But you know, what you said before about it not helping my trauma very much isn't true in fact. The only thing that _does_ help is you." And after confessing the obvious she gave her girlfriend a passionate kiss, to the best of her abilities at least.

* * *

After a few more deaths in Dark Souls Chloe departed and Max quickly headed over to the classroom. But just until the moment she entered the room she didn't realize that this would be the first photography lesson since... _him_. She could feel how cold sweat formed on her forehead.

_Calm down. It's not going to be Jefferson who's teaching you._

She spotted Kate who was sitting next to... Victoria, and already wanted to sit herself away from them when Kate waved her over with an inviting smile. "Morning Max!"

"Hey Kate. Morning Victoria." The freckled girl tried to stay polite and got an acknowledging nod back in return.

_Okay. That's a few steps closer to friendly than it was before. Can't expect a full one eighty of her personality, can I? But still, I need to calm myself. No need for a teary breakdown in front of everyone... Geez, how the hell would I explain something like that. In this world he never..._

"How're you doing today? You look a bit sleepy." Kate asked, probably noticing that her friend was feeling uneasy.

"Let's just say Mondays suck!"

Most students were already in their rooms by now so the hallway was rather quiet, with only a few silenced noises from the other rooms coming reaching the brunette. But Max still noticed the _thump-_ sounds slowly coming closer. _Thump. Thump_. Steps. Mr Walker was coming.

"You don't say." Victoria notified from the other side. _Thump_.

Instead of reacting like she usually would Max tensed up upon hearing the arrival of her new photography teacher. The freckled girl could feel how her hand started to shake, but then she noticed something odd what surprised her. The all so perfect Victoria was showing signs of the same panic that was running through the brunette right now. Her eyes were darting nervously through the room, her hands were folded together and pressing so hard against one another that Max could see how the white of her knuckles was coming through. _Thump. Thump._

_Is she?... Just as scared as I am? But she was never in the dark room in this reality. She shouldn't have a trauma. Maybe her imagination and the reports were enough food for her nightmares though. Wouldn't blame her if that's the reason._

_Thump. Thump._

_This is not Jefferson. Don't judge him before you've seen him._

_Thump. Thump._

In panic Max pressed her eyelids against one another. She felt the touch of a hand at her upper arm and knew that Kate tried to calm her down. As she opened her eyes again, she tried to give her friend a thankful smile. Kate smiled back but then pointed in front of them.

A man was standing there.

Mr Walker had arrived.


	22. To project a picture onto a Wall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I just realized this story has already over ONE HUNDRED followers! That's nuts! I honestly didn't expect anything at all when I started writing this so I don't really know what I should say to all of you guys except for thanks for liking my story so far! It just feels great to see someone appreciating one's work. Maybe this doesn't sound like much for some of you, but the moment I realized it it totally blew my mind xD
> 
> And as always, if you guys found any mistakes or have some constructive critic don't mind telling me! ^^

The man in front of her had black hair, wore a suit and was rather young. No wait, was he really?! No he wasn't! Or was he? For a few moments it felt like different realities were shifting into one another. Max saw her ex-teacher for a few more moments, but he faded as fast as he appeared. She shook her head to clear her mind and tried to focus the person in front of the class. There was no twisted teacher smirking a smirk of mischief. The only thing that had remained was a man, who didn't have the slightest resemblance to Mark Jefferson.

Red hair reaching over his ears, green eyes, a beard on his chin and also he was fat.

_Okay, he isn't really fat, just a bit chubbier than Jefferson was._

After realizing that there was no reality shift and no immediate danger, the brunette could feel how her heart slowly calmed down. She took a few more deep breaths and started to play with one of her pens so that her hands had something better to do than to shake in panic. To be frank she felt like she needed to belch again.

_No you're not going to throw up here, you here me body! He's not Mr Jefferson. This asshole is locked away, god knows where, and will stay there at least until the_ _lawsuit is over, and there are so many evidences against him that there's no way he'll get away without any punishment... I... I fucking hope he'll go in the death row...  
_

Then Max closed her blue eyes again and let out a sharp annoyed sounding breath. _Geez, stop thinking about him already!_ She scolded herself.

Kate, sitting to Max's right side, suddenly whispered, "At first me and Vic were just like you, you know?"

But before the freckled girl could respond her blond friend, the teacher spoke up. "Morning everyone. I hope you'll forgive me if I have to ask for some of your names again, as most of you know already I'm just the substitute for... Well you know for whom." He immediately stopped upon noticing the shift in not just Max's face, but also Victoria's and some other students. The brunette was surprised that Miss Perfect was showing her anxiety like that, but what surprised her even more was that Kate wasn't showing any at all. She was a true victim of the Dark Room and yet she was calmer than Victoria or Max themselves.

"Okay, let's see...Alyssa, right?"

"Hmhm." The chubby girl responded.

"Mind reminding me what we did yesterday?"

"Shouldn't you know that yourself?" Victoria suddenly asked rather bitchy, but even so was no crack in Mr Walker's facade.

"I know that I should, but I hope that you know that the question here is not that I should know it, but that you should instead. After all you'll need to know it to pass the exams which are coming up sooner or later. Are you following Miss Chase?"

Now all eyes turned to the blonde in expectation of an answer but the only think Victoria answered was "I..." and then she let a _hmpf_ out but didn't add anything else. Mr Walker on the other hand seemed pleased.

 _Hmmm, so she's bitchy towards him because she fears him? Just like she was towards me because she thought that I would steal her spotlight. This is not a healthy habit, Vicky. And that's coming from the introverted nerd. Plus one for having some sense of humor_.

The new teacher began the lesson rather normal. He handed out a worksheet with the headline "The critical eye." But made a weird pause when he stood before Kate's, Victoria's and Max's table. _Minus ten points for giving us creepy attention! Why would stand here longer than he needs to. Well, maybe I'm just over analyzing him a bit, but still!_

When he suddenly raised his voice Max winced and felt stupid because of it. He was their teacher after all, speaking a bit louder was kind of a given. "The critical eye, yesterday I think it was Mr DaCosta who pointed it out, is a given for every kind of artist! It's not important what you actually do, be it painting, writing, taking photos or even modeling for said photos. You need to look at your work and be critical about it. The moment you say that you've done a good job is the moment you stop improving yourself! There is no _perfect_ in the world of an artist! We're no mathematician after all." As he spotted a raised hand he immediately stopped his speech and let Taylor ask her question.

"But doesn't that suck in the long run? I don't want to always see only the negative sides of the work I did. That would totally stress me out after a while!"

"That's a very good argument Miss..." He needed a moment to remember her last name, "Christensen. But I didn't say you should always think what you do is bad. Of course if I look at one of my photos I could argue that I should've used the lightning better, or should've taken the shot from another angle, but I should also take in the good points of the photo."

_Okay. He can take critic and give good answers for the asked question. Let's say that counts for two points. Still at minus seven though._

"Actually that should be the case for everything in life." He carried on. "Be true to yourself. Not to harsh and not to gentle. Geez, I sound like some weird wanna be philosopher..." On his side comment nearly everyone in the class chuckled a bit. Everyone. Everyone except for Victoria and Max because those two girls had both noticed something odd. Time after time he would glimpse towards them, as if he was checking something. In a normal situation no one would pay attention to something like that, but those two girls were being extremely tensed up and hyper aware of this being called _their teacher_.

The freckled girl used her chance to ask Victoria about exactly that when Mr Walker turned around to write something on the blackboard. She bent her body, to reach over Kate, to tip the blonde on the shoulder. "Hey, does he always observe you like that?"

It was surprising that Victoria immediately knew what the freckled girl was talking about, but Max had no time to appreciate that because right then she saw the serious expression on Victoria's face as she shook her head, which was absent of any hostility towards her. A feeling of uneasiness spread over Max's whole body. As if every inch of her skin was being shrouded in cigarette smoke. _Minus 50 points._

But other then looking at the two of them sometimes their new teacher didn't make anything suspicious at all. If Max would be honest to herself even she would admit that he actually did a good job. He didn't take anything to serious, and brought most of the theoretical parts across without loosing the interest of the class. And yet, she couldn't relax at all.

 _Maybe... Maybe I just need to give him some time, so that I can grow accustomed to him. After all it's highly unlikely that he drugs children and makes photos of them in a dark cellar... I did trust Mr Jefferson, too..._ The freckled girl let out half a sigh before realizing that she was in the middle of the class still. _To think that this class was the reason I came back to Arcadia... Well this and Chloe of course. Despite everything I did want to see her again._

The hipster-girl felt how she started falling back into her old pattern of daydreaming. The only big difference to the past were the topics those daydreams were about. But it wasn't like that just with her daydreams. After the week that did not exist _didn't_ happen her whole mindset had been deconstructed and rearranged. Before said week she was scared of things like popularity, good grades and... Well people in general, but now, and she had noticed that herself, she either didn't give a damn anymore, or her anxieties had grown even worse. She had a hard time looking people in the eyes, but not like before because she was shy. Max wished that it was such a shallow reason, but no in truth she always asked herself how in the world she could just think about trying to be popular or just friendly with the people living in Arcadia Bay? She who would've killed every one of them for one punk girl. She who didn't care about saving anyone except one punk girl. _My punk girl!_

 _But I didn't even consider about going back through a photo to help Kate for example. The only person I tried to help was Chloe. Always Chloe... And I don't regret it._ Does that make me a bad person? She questioned herself, while looking at the blonde christian girl sitting next to her. In the end everything had played out alright. But was that enough? Kate had still been in the Dark Room, even if she took it better than Max expected. The Dark Room shouldn't be something one took in.

_The real reason for her break down was the mobbing afterwards, so now that this didn't happen she seems stable. Hell, she even seems happy... The thing is... I didn't help with that, despite knowing that the mobbing could've been very well like before. Everyone labels me as some kind of hero, but the truth is that I'm just selfi-_

"Ahem!" Mr Walker fake-coughed in his fist to gain Max's attention. Her blue eyes started to focus on what was going on in the present again and she saw that the substitute teacher was looking at her with a somewhat puzzling expression on his face. If the brunette had to describe the expression to someone she would say it was a mixture out of gentleness and strictness. _Weird_.

"Miss Caulfield and Miss Chase I would like to have a talk with you two after this lesson, if you don't mind."

 _Yes, I do fucking mind!_ But of course Max couldn't say this out loud. _I just spaced a bit, why does he take that so serious?_

But before she could think about it further he added, "Ooohh, no need to look so worried! It's nothing to worry about. Or at least I hope so at least." His words were meant to be reassuring but in fact they didn't help at all. Max's feelings unsurprisingly decided to not calm down after hearing that. Instead they caused a cramp in her stomach. The brunette tried to not show any signs though, but somehow Kate still realized that Max wasn't feeling too well right now and laid a hand on her shoulder.

The freckled girl uttered a "T-thank you, Kate."

But the blond girl just winked and whispered, "That's what friends are there for. If you feel bad you can always come to me."

_Why is she so kind... I was really not a good friend Kate, I'm sorry..._

The rest of the lesson was rather... uneventful. Mr Walker did his teaching rather well, but obviously neither Max nor Victoria could really focus on that and then before they really noticed it their class was already over and the bell rang.

_Shit. Shit. Shit! Just with him and Victoria alone, could it get any worse?_

Most students left the room after putting their stuff in their bags and no one really payed any attention to the two girls. The only one who did was Kate who asked them if she should wait outside and both of them happily accepted the kind gesture of their good friend. "It's going to be okay, guys. I can understand that it feels unpleasant but he did nothing wrong yet, did he?" And with those words she also left the room.

Now there were just Max, Victoria and of course their teacher Mr Walker present.

"Let me just doodle some notices in my notebook real quick." He said while doing exactly that.

The two girls sat next to each other with just Kate's chair between them, but neither felt like closing the distance either. A few moments non of them felt like talking either, but the longer they stayed silent the awkwarder it got.

"So me and you, huh?" The blonde said to disrupt the silence hanging over the whole classroom.

"I guess?..."

"You still can't stand me, can you?"

"Huh? I... Well, uhm... To be honest I don't really mind hanging with you and Kate, Victoria." Max shrugged. The truth was though that the freckled girl was worried that Victoria was just trying to use Kate to push her _messiah_ image even more.

_Kate is probably pretty known by now... So if you just try to use Kate to be more popular I'll seriously make you pay._

But suddenly the blonde girl snorted. "You can't stand me."

"I... I'm trying."

"I guess I deserve it. Gave you some shit you don't deserve."

"Wow. Never expected to hear that come out of _your_ mouth."

"Fuck you, I have some self-awareness as well, you know?"

"Ohh, me and your self-awareness got to know each other pretty well."

"Hah! Bitch."

Despite the conversation sounding like they were fighting both of them didn't feel any real hostility against one another. At least not more than they usually did.

"Ahem!"

A pair of brown and a pair of blue eyes darted to the desk from where the cough sound came.

"I'm seriously sorry for interrupting your... whatever that was. But it sounded like you two were having a good talk about something quiet interesting."

"And that is?" Victoria asked rather annoyed.

"Unfounded hate."

Both girls couldn't come up with an answer. But now they both knew where this would be going.

"It's not like I don't get it, really." He let out a sigh that let him seem way older than he probably was. "You two hate me." And after seeing their faces he added, "Ahh, don't give me that look now. It's obvious."

_I shouldn't though. He didn't do anything wrong yet after all... But he's right. The whole class was just me hating everything he did._

"But to be frank, I expected nothing else. I like to believe that you _subconsciously_ antagonized me." he made it sound like that would be any better than hating someone consciously.

"S-sorry." Max said, and in fact she was. For now he was just a substitute teacher nothing more nothing less.

But instead of accepting the apology he retorted, "The hell? Don't be! Fuck, I would've done the same if I was in your shoes." For a moment the two girls were stunned and then realized that this man in front of them was brutally honest and not the slightest bid shy. "And that's exactly why I picked this job. Some colleagues said I was crazy for wanting such a delicate position, but that was the biggest reason _why_ I wanted it. I honestly want to cleanse the bad image you two must have now towards photography. I've read your records and they are impressive. Both of yours. You two are the best students in this class. Well _were_ , to be exact. Tell me, did one of you make a photo which created a feeling similar to how it felt before the Dark Room incident?"

Victoria, still with her arms crossed, made a disgusted expression as she answered, "I... haven't shot any since then."

"And you, Miss Caulfield?"

"... Me neither." The small girl responded, which was more a whisper than anything else.

"It may does sound a bit corny but when I heard the story, I decided that I wanted to help you two, as well as Kate Marsh, to see the beauty in photography again. So I don't mind if you two hate me, but please try to not hate photography. It was just another victim of this psycho."

Max was the first to speak up after that. "I... I will try."

_I didn't pay taking photos any mind at all. To think that they were once the most important thing to me. Well now it's obviously second place. Nothing can beat my blue punk after all. She's the only thing that is keeping me together. Jefferson and the whole time travel tragedy really destroyed most of what made me be myself, but it gave me Chloe so I shouldn't complain too much._

Just a few seconds later Victoria agreed with Max answer. "Yeah. You're right. And maybe I'll try to not be so sassy from now on..."

"No, please don't stop. It's _very_ entertaining."

_Okay. Maybe he's not quiet normal after all. But hey, who wants to be normal, right? Probably nobody except me._

"But before I let you go, I had just one more question for you Miss Caulfield."

"Me?" The moment it came out of her mouth she could hear Chloe making fun of it. _Me? As if there was another Caulfield standing here._

"This may be very rude and personal to ask, so I don't mind if you don't answer honestly, just wanting to clarify that beforehand. How did you know what Jefferson was up to? Nobody seemed to care about it in the articles I've read."

 _The big question... I did tell Dana and Kate, but I trust those two. Can I trust him?_ The brunette let out a sigh and then answered with, "Out of the blue I got time travel powers and with sheer luck I found it out..."

For a moment Mr Walker and also Victoria were both dumbfounded thanks to the seriousness in Max voice. "Ahh, I see. Well, it's non of my business anyways. But if you ever change your mind don't hesitate to tell me." And with that his attention wandered back to the work he still had to do.

The two girls stood there for a moment, not knowing if he would say anything else, but after a few moments they decided to excuse themselves. Now standing in the hallway Kate immediately rejoined with them and asked, "And? How did it go?" After Max and Victoria explained what the conversation was about she let out an "Hmmmm." noise. "He seems like a good person then?"

"I honestly don't know if he's that or just a photo loving weirdo." Victoria retorted.

"Can't he be both though?"

"... I guess? Anyways afterwards he asked Max how she knew what Jefferson was up to. Time travel, wasn't it?" Victoria said in a sarcastic tone, but as she saw Kate's sad face upon hearing it her smirk disappeared again. "What? Did I say something wrong, again?"

"N-no it's just..." Kate didn't know what she was allowed to say so instead she looked at the freckled girl with a wondering expression.

Max _didn't_ want to talk about it. It hadn't anything to do with Victoria per se, but if she would explain that she also was an victim, like Kate was, a lot of memories and emotions would boil up again. Things she wanted to bury forever.

"Ohh, you mean that Max was also taken by him?"

_How?!_

"C'mon guys it's obvious." The blonde said with a shrug upon seeing the confused faces starring at her. "And I'm sorry that it happened to you, Max. I really am." And both girls could see that Victoria was being serious with that statement. "But most of the school already figured out that you were a victim as well. Mr Walker probably too." The blonde said while pointing at her back, where the door to the classroom was, with her thumb.

" _Fuck_..."


	23. A small glow inside

" _Fuck_..."

Victoria couldn't believe that Max was so shocked. She out of all people must've known how significant all of it had been. "You can't be serious. To believe that nobody would think about _how_ you could know all of that. It was such an important event here in Blackwell after all... You were even in the news! Not everyone here is an doofus like Zach or Trevor, you know?" Victoria explained, with a sassy expression on her face. Her eyebrows were narrowed a bit and while raising just one corner of her mouth.

The freckled girl on the other hand started to chew on her lips nervously. "Hey listen, I didn't think about it. It's called suppressing I was trying to do, _you_ know? But anyways, how did you guys know..." Max couldn't even finish the sentence. She felt her anxieties boiling up again. It felt like a sharp dagger was in her stomach and the only way to escape was to run away. Just that she couldn't.

_Old habits die hard, right? Fuck me!_

"I can explain it to you again, Caulfield. You weren't showing any signs of surprise at all, after finding out that _he_ was a fucking psychopath and murderer, and instead came up with a plan to take him down. Like you knew everything beforehand... Hey, maybe you really are a time traveler." Max could feel how cold sweat broke out all over her body. Even if it was just a joke. But someone else but Chloe being so close to the truth was terrifying.

_They'll find out I wanted to kill all of them for my selfish reasons... They'll all hate me. N-no, stop thinking like that Max! There's no way they'll find out if I don't tell them!_

Max needed to find Chloe. She needed one of the punk-hugs in which she could forget everything bad. She needed some punk-kisses which tasted like everything good the universe had to offer. She needed Chloe. Now. Her blue eyes started getting all teary.

With a surprised voice Victoria said, "Shit. I-I'm sorry. Didn't mean to... Fuck that must've been really inappropriate of me to talk about such a heavy topic." The blonde said as she scratched her neck awkwardly. She just realized how casually she had spoken about such an sensitive topic. The blonde's brown eyes showed a deep sadness which confused the freckled girl for a moment but as she thought more about it she realized why the blonde was probably so hurt.

_I shouldn't forget that she was practically dating Nathan... I don't want to imagine the pain she must've felt when it came out that he was a murdering major asshole. But I can't just ask her how she feels either, we're not really friends after all..._

"Poor Max." Kate sighed as she suddenly gave her friend a bear hug. Even if Kate partially knew what Max went through because she had told her everything regarding the Dark Room, Kate still felt like Max was unintentionally pushing everyone away as soon as the topic came up. "Let's... Let's just get something to eat and enjoy the rest of the day shall we?" Kate tried to distract the other two girls from the heavy topic that was the Dark Room.

"N-no, it's fine." the brunette shook her head. She couldn't explain that the Dark Room was just part of the mess inside of her head after all. She wiped her eyes with her sleeves and straightened her back again, trying to look as firm as possible.

_If I can't be steadfast on the inside, at least I should try to be it on the outside, right?_

"Hey, Max..." Kate spoke with a soft comforting voice, "Don't let it boil up, okay? Talk to us, or even better talk, talk to Chloe. You're not alone after all." The blonde explained.

"She's right." A now somewhat composed Victoria said, still with a hint of insecurity in her voice. "Even I feel absolutely defiled, even thought nothing happened to me... I actually did imagine however how it could've been me in your shoes and... Just the thought that it could've been me and not you or Kate was enough to take away all the passion I once had for photography..." A shudder went through the blonde's body. Then there was a long pause in which Victoria, as far as Max could tell, looked kind of nervous and displeased. She was fiddling with her Kashmir top, while her eyes were starring holes in the floor. Right then when Max thought Victoria just didn't want to say anything at all she let out a groan and confessed, "I wouldn't have been as strong as you, Caulfield."

Max nearly snorted upon hearing that. She? Strong? _She got everything wrong... Me being strong? I did fuck up. Time over time again. That we're all standing here right now is nothing more than luck..._

"I... was not strong. Not in the least. I just did... what I had to do after all..."

"Exactly! Don't think to high of yourself now, bitch. I'm still queen around here!" Victoria said awkwardly, with her voice missing the usual self-confidence. Instead there was a small smile playing over her lips.

_Is she trying to cheer me up?_

"C'mon Vic, what's with all the cursing?" Kate said in her best 'mother-voice'.

"Yes, yes. Sorry Kate the nun." Victoria's brown eyes turned to Max again as she explained. "I never really liked Kate before, you know? But once I heard what had happened to her I wanted to help her. Turns out the christian girl is actually pretty okay." While going on Kate threw a "Hey! Just okay?" in, which didn't disturb Victoria at all. She just continued talking, "Despite what we think of each other, there has been enough shi... bad stuff gone down in this school, for the next ten thousand years or so. And I... I just don't want to add anything else to it with all the hating." She shrugged.

_Whoa. That's actually quiet reasonable. And coming from Miss Chase, mind you! Maybe she really does try to change in this timeline, after all. And Kate being the reason for it is so... weird. But good nonetheless._

The freckled girl let out a sigh. So much changed after this week that it was still hard for her to grasp everything. Chloe, Kate and pretty much everyone else were the same, _yet_ somewhat different. Just she herself was the same. Max still felt the pain. Max still felt the fear... But now there was also something else though. Something burning deep inside of her, she hasn't felt in a long time. A feeling of resistance.

_I've been the slave of my own anxiety long enough, haven't I?_

And it was right then and there that Max decided something for herself. Both Kate and Victoria had started to change. Kate was more open, she was even befriended with _Chloe_ after all, and Victoria was trying to _not_ be the drama queen anymore. Max felt like she also needed to do something. She couldn't just run away forever, could she? She needed to confront her issues... With Chloe together, obviously.

She wanted to start taking photos again.

The conversation with Mr Walker just made it even more obvious that she was caging herself. Painfully Obvious so to say.

Max had decided that she needed to get rid of all those blockades she had created after the week that never happened. It was her life after all not that of some time god who was bored. _The thing that gave me my powers probably watched to much Death Note..._

And still, She couldn't let everything be ruined by whatever those powers were.

_It's just some time travel and evil psycho. That's nothing against that one time when me and Che got chased by one of the cooks in Two Whales after Chloe stole some sweets. Told me it was alright. "Jeff is a good guy he won't be angry..." Yeah right..._

And as if being summoned Max's handy vibrated thanks to a message of her blue haired girlfriend.

**Chloe: Where u at?**

**Chloe: Life is boring without u!**

**Chloe: Aww, look at me am I not sweet? So sweet that you should come over to Two Whales now, right?**

**Chloe: RIGHT?**

**Max: So sweet I wouldn't know what to do with out you.**

But it was true in fact. One thing the freckled girl had realized the last few days was that when she was not with Chloe, even if it was just for an hour or so, she wasn't just feeling lonely and kind of bored, but her anxieties got way worse than normally. The blue haired punk was the best therapy for Max.

**Max: Will be there in about 30 if that's okay for your highness.**

**Chloe: Acceptable.**

**Chloe: NO EMOJI**

**Max: didn't use any ._.**

**Max: Ups ;)**

**Chloe: Grrrrr**

"Chatting with your girlfriend is more exciting with than me and Kate. Got it. Tzh!"

"Yep it is." Max retorted without even looking up from her handy. "Sorry Kate, didn't mean it."

Kate raised her hands in denial. "I know, I know. That's how it should be, after all you two love each other."

Victoria let out another "Thz." Before she said, "You're too kind Kati."

"I can be angry as well!"

"No, you can't." Both girls said nearly simultaneously.

Kate let out an "Ohh." while giving up on the discussion, but then started to giggle, which lead the other two girls to laugh as well.

_It feels good hanging out with people again. It feels... normal. My life has been strange enough the last few days._

* * *

Max explained that she would meet up with Chloe and left Victoria and Kate after saying goodbye.

_I can't decide if Victoria is nice or a bitch... It's really weird. I never know when she's sarcastic and when she's not._

Confused yet rather happy that she and the blonde hopefully wouldn't have such an hateful relationship anymore, the brunette made herself on the way to meet her blue haired girlfriend in the Two Whales diner.

_Where else after all. Two Whales is like our main base, isn't it? The waffles are just too damn good though so I won't complain._

As the bus softly drove through the old town, she did what she loved doing. As the relaxing tunes of "The Fall" by Rhye kicked in she started looking outside and observed what was going on in the small town that shouldn't exist anymore. She saw an old black man in a pretty expensive looking Car.

_Wasn't he the one who won the lotto? Good for him!_

The bus stopped and a man, he could be just as old as her grandpa Charlie, came inside while complaining to his seatmate about the recent weather. "It's so hot for autumn! In my days snow was already falling. All because of those blasted fabrics in today's world."  
While agreeing with him to some point, she wasn't so sure if the global warming was the real reason behind this. Maybe there was more than the mere eye could see after all.

_A time god who got bored and started playing with my life for example. No. This is just normal warm weather. It's over. Don't think about it anymore._

Instead she tried to relax herself in the music. And it unexpectedly started working after a few more minutes. For the first time that day she felt good. No anxiety, no sad or terrifying memories, and no Sean Prescott. The only thing on her mind was the excitement of meeting up with Chloe once more today. And as she went off the bus, now standing right next to the diner, she could feel how butterflies went havoc in her stomach.

_Geez, I'm just seeing her in Two Whales. Nothing special at all. No need to be so excited._

But the truth was that the freckled girl really enjoyed those feelings. Feelings which surrounded Chloe Price in general were something she could get lost in even more than music, books, movies or games. Her last inner place of true peace so to say. The freckled girl checked herself in the mirror of one of the cars one more time, just to make sure she wouldn't look to shabby. She felt kind of silly while doing so, but the urge to do it was even stronger.

_There's no way Chloe would care if I didn't look perfect... But I do want to look good for her though... Yay, insecurities. What would a lesbian teenage girl do without it, am I right?_ She said to herself while fiddling with her hair a bit.

"You can't be serious!" The brunette was startled by the loud voice coming from behind her back, but just a few seconds later she realized that it was Chloe's voice. "You scared you won't look super cute like you always do? That's hella adorable!"

"I'm not worried!" Max denied with a shriek voice full of embarrassment. She had been caught. "I-I... just like to look good for my breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day after all. What would I do if old ugly me would scare it away?"

The punk let out her, in Max's opinion, beautiful giggle just before running towards the smaller girl while saying, "C'mere you little dork!" Chloe's big strong arms swirled around Max's neck and pulled her into a bear hug. The blue haired girl pecked the brown hair of her girlfriend before letting her go again. "Ahh, just needed to charge my hot-hippie-girlfriend-battery, sorry."

_We could argue about the hot, but I'll let it slide today._

After she was freed Max just looked at Chloe with big eyes and red cheeks. Blue eyes and hair. Big stature. Cocky smile. Her casual black leather jacket and a torn jeans. This was Chloe to the tee. Max's mouth formed a smile. But it didn't stop there. She could feel how her face formed a stupid grin after seeing her girlfriend again after what, a few hours? Everything about the two of them seemed just so cliché that she couldn't help herself. She started laughing. At first it was just a giggle but it quickly became a loud laughter.

"What? Do I have something on my face? Should've checked in a car mirror before coming here, damn it!" The punk said, looking rather confused upon seeing her girlfriend laugh out of nowhere, while not loosing her impish smirk.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny. But to answer your question No, you got nothing on your face." Max then locked her eyes into Chloe's and they starred at each other rather intense, without loosing their smiles. At first the bigger girl was kind of confused and nearly lost her smirk for a moment. Just for a moment though. Then, after a few moments, Max gave her answer in the form of a whisper which only Chloe would be able to hear because they were still so close to each other. "I just missed you, that's all."

"Hah! That's all part of the plan 'absolute loose of autonomy'. At first it's just a feeling but sooner or later you'll get addicted and won't be able to life without me anymore." Chloe tried to joke, but Max could still see the pink in her cheeks, which surprised her somewhat. Seeing Chloe blush was a rarity.

"I think I'm already addicted to you to be honest. You were on my mind all day long." The smaller girl retorted.

"That's..." Max's boldness caught the punk off guard, as always. "That's even better! All part of my plan you see."

"Uh huh. Maybe you're right. After all I wouldn't even mind, if you just gave me a kiss right now..." And it didn't take long for Chloe to take her girlfriend up on her offer. Their lips met and Max immediately felt how her legs got weaker as electricity gently went through her whole body. Chloe's hands, which were wandering from her neck into her hair, left a burning feeling on her skin. The smaller girl didn't want those sensations to stop. Not yet. Who cared what the people around her thought? She didn't... Well, at the moment at least.

She went on tiptoe to deepen the kiss even further. Also her hands grabbed the leather on the punk's back, and Chloe didn't need long to realize what Max wanted. As their tongues softly collided the brunette could still taste some cigarette and coffee, which maybe sounds like a funny taste to someone else, but for Max it tasted wonderful nonetheless. It tasted like nostalgia. The nostalgia of Chloe Price.

Both girls noticed how a few people around them looked at them surprised, but not even the somewhat insecure Max cared about it at the moment. Their lips kept in touch until the very last moment and the punk damned their natural need for air. The freckled girl chuckled in the bigger girl's arms and they just held each other in their arms, while being somewhat out of breath.

"See? All according to the plan." The punk said.

"Yeah..." Max could feel of her cheeks were reddening. The moment of braveness vanished as quick as it had come. Now she realized that everyone were looking at her holding Chloe tightly. She made a step back, still holding the punk's hand and they started walking to the diner together.

The two of them made their way inside of the diner and upon entering Chloe got greeted with an "Coming for a free meal again, darling? Once you start working a lot will have to change, I hope you know that." Joyce said.

"Mom with all due respect, we both know that I'll still come here and get something from you."

The waitress sighed, while not loosing the kind smile on her face. "You would be so stubborn you would rather starve than to pay your own meals."

"Just take it as a compliment! The food here is great, you know?"

"Nice save. Now don't let your girlfriend wait any longer." Chloe's mother said as she pointed with her head towards Max who had already gone to their table.

_Girlfriend... It's so weird hearing Joyce call me her girlfriend. But she really doesn't mind, does she? I just hope my parents will be just as chill as she was... And what aboud David?_ Max thought while she claimed their favorite bench for herself. Just moments later Chloe sat herself with her usual elegant yet bold 'swing myself over the bench'-move on the other side of the table.

"I don't even know how big your debts are by now..." Joyce said as she came to bring them some coffee.

"Don't worry Joyce, today's meal is on me." Max responded.

"Ohhh, don't go there kid. She loves it when people buy her stuff, but don't let it get to. She won't do anything anymore otherwise, y'know?"

"Hah, she's right! I would strip you of everything you have. Literally." Chloe said while wiggling with her eyebrows. Joyce on the other hand just rolled her eyes.

"Keep you're hands where I can see them, Chloe. At least until you're out of the diner."

And with a impish smile the blue haired girl retorted, "Can't promise anything. Also, it should be Max who you should be aware of, not me."

The freckled girl ignored the comment and instead thanked the waitress for the coffee.

"So you two lovebirds already know what you want for breakfast?"

"Of course! Who do you take me for, mom? I'll have menu three with extra bacon and Max's takes the Belgian waffles."

"Hey, maybe I don't want the waffles _every_ time I'm at Two Whales..." Max intervened

"Maybe. But you do, don't you."

"... Well, they're pretty good so..."

"See? I just know you way to good, Caulfield." The punk stated while triumphantly laying her legs on Max's lap. Instead of complaining the brunette just rolled with her eyes. "And don't tell me you actually want to eat meat. You would take part in killing innocent living beings, how can you, Maxine of the green hipster association, stand for that?" The punk tried to sound shocked while lifting her hand before her mouth.

"Everyone who gets between me and _bacon_ is not innocent."

"Damn... Greed I feel in you, young one. To the dark side it will lead you. We have bacon though."

And at that Joyce came with their meals out of the kitchen. "Here's your food girls. Careful not to spill anything or you'll have to clean it afterwards, honey."

"Hey why does Max not need to clean anything?"

"She pays for her meals."

"Whoa, never knew there comes extra service with paying meals in a restaurant." Chloe said rather sarcastically.

"Well you-"

"Hey, Joyce can I get one more coffee?" A trucker yelled from the other side of the diner.

"-... Just don't get in any trouble."

"Sure, mom." Chloe said halfhearted, knowing that Joyce wouldn't believe her anyways.

For the most part Max had stayed silent, not wanting to disturb the entertaining conversation between mother and daughter. Now she was sitting there with a small smile playing on her lips. "She'll always be your mom, no matter what you do."

"I know... I really try to better myself though. And for the record I seriously want to start paying for the food... Most of it. Some of it... Well you get what I mean, right?"

"Uhm. Yeah, I can guess where you wanted to go." The brunette said while stuffing way too much waffle in her mouth. Chloe also seemed pleased with the answer and of course also with the breakfast. For a few minutes the two just ate their meals in a cozy atmosphere.

After witnessing how casual and kind the two Price women were towards each other, Max started thinking about her parents again _._

_Dad has always been supportive with everything I've done so far, even if he hated the idea of letting me go to Blackwell alone. But even he always pestered me with questions like "Is there a boy you're seeing." every time I went outside to meet Fernando and Kristen... Then there's mom. Geez, mom. If it comes to anxieties and such I definitely come after her more than I do with dad. She even pulled the mom tears out just to stop me from coming back to Arcadia... Sometimes I'm really jealous of the relationship Chloe has with her mother. But then there's also Mr Madsen... Apropos, what's him anyways. Better ask her._

"Che?"

"Sup?" The punk answered while a piece of scrambled egg fell out of her mouth into her lap. "You wretched egg stay in my mouth already!"

Max ignored the spilling, she was after all used to how her girlfriends eating behaviors were. "Just wondering. But is everything okay with you and David?

"Urgh, where is that coming from?"

"Just thought about our parents... Well, step-"

"Step-douches?"

"He hasn't talked to you yet because of..."

"Us? Nope. Not a single word. Haven't seen him either." Chloe shrugged. It didn't look like she was too unhappy about it.

"We still need to talk to him because of... you know what."

"Ohh, we're doing the harry potter thing now?"

"We shouldn't talk in public about it, should we? You said it yourself. He owns half of this town."

"Yeah, right... We'll talk to him tomorrow and then go inside the principals. The plan hasn't changed yet. And you're sure we can find dirt on... _'You know who_ ' there?" The punk couldn't help but smirk upon saying it.

"At least last time we did."

"Okay. Let's safe that for later." And while bending over the table she said with a low voice, "Don't want mom to overhear us. She would get involved. Want her out of this for now."

"Me too."

Then Chloe asked while leaning back again, "Anyways, how was your day today?"

Max groaned. Hadn't been the best day so far for her. "Fine. Victoria is being really scary though. She actually said that she _doesn't_ want to be part of any drama anymore. Can you believe that? Victoria Chase!"

"That really does sound weird. But I didn't ask how Victoria was doing. I asked you. You had your first photo lesson today."

"It's photography."

"Max..." Chloe interrupted her girlfriend with a sad yet calm voice. Her eyes were locked into Max's blue one's.

"Yeah... Sorry... Being a smartass again."

"Don't get me wrong, I love it when you get all smart and ass, but please don't try to evade the question."

The brunette bit her lips like she always did when she didn't want to talk. Was she tasting blood? _Shit_. Her eyes moved from Chloe's face to the street, but the punk poked her with one of the foots still laying on Max's lap. As the brunette's eyes returned to her girlfriend's face Max could see how Chloe's expression said " _Don't_ ".

_Need to stop running away... Not as easy as it sounds. But I'm safe here with Che, am I not?_

"It wasn't as bad as I expected. Nearly had a panic attack in the beginning though."

"Fuck..." Chloe scratched the itchy skin beneath her beanie. "C'mon girl, lets get out of here and you can tell me everything somewhere more chill. With less sweaty-trucker-odor in the air."

"... Okay"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> Geez working is on this is taking longer than expected the last few days... I honestly expect that there'll be some typos, please try to ignore those as much as you can. (Or tell me so I can correct them :3 )
> 
> We are coming close to 100k words which is really nuts for me... I started writing with a "Well fuck it why not"-mood and never really expected to have so much fun with it. So all I can say is thanks to everyone who still enjoys this story ^^


	24. Friendly selfishness

The sound of the waves was still reaching them and they. They had taken off their shoes, naked foots laid in the sand. For probably one of the last warm autumn-days there was a pretty pleasant temperature laying itself over their skin. A comforting warmth but not hot enough to sweat while being hit by sunbeams.

Max really liked the beach for multiple reasons. It was beautiful in the first place, obviously, but there was also a certain harmonic atmosphere around it. Like nothing could ever stop the sea from not being blue making people wet if they jump in the tide.

"Somehow the sea reminds me of you Che."

"It does?" The punk asked with one eyebrow raised in skepticism.

But just saying what was on her mind was admittedly kind of embarrassing for the little hippie so she just said that she didn't know why it did, it just did.

"It's blue and so are you."

_Half the truth. Taking the 'We are real towards each other' step by step is probably for the best._

* * *

Their ate their lunch in Two Whales and afterwards Chloe had proposed to drive Max back to school. After all Max had been absent for two weeks by now and needed to catch up or her grades would sooner or later start dropping. Chloe wasn't the biggest fan of that idea though, not wanting to let her girlfriend out of her arms. School would take half a day she could spent cuddling with her. "Listen, I can teach you science. Have always been good in it. " She halfheartedly tried to convince Max to stay.

"You can do that actually."

" _Really_?" The punk didn't expect to archive anything with that offer.

"Yea... _After_ school."

The blue haired girl rolled with her eyes while letting air sharply out of her nose. "Eff you, Caulfield." She said, while not loosing the small smile on her face because it wasn't like she didn't understand that Max _should_ go to school. And it was not like she didn't had contacted Bay city College already, so that she would be able to finish her school career as well. But she wanted to wait for their answer before letting hope stir in anyone. Especially herself.

And so she chauffeured the freckled girl back in her own personal carriage. Well, run-down truck, but who cared about the little details anyways? Chloe didn't. she had more important things on her mind than that. Max would be graduating soon and Chloe... not.

 _I can't be of any help for my girl without education, even if it'll be a few hella boring years if I get into the college. But hey, who wouldn't do everything for love, right?_ The punk thought while cursing herself for wanting to be accepted so bad. _What was that about not stirring hope in anybody?_ But all of that wouldn't help her for now. She would job in the cafe for now to earn some peanuts, even if that was not her life goal. She wanted a good job so that she could spoil the brunette forever and ever.

As they reached the campus Max and Chloe gave each other a quick kiss before the small girl needed to depart for class. Chloe who had a few hours for herself knew already exactly what she would do. And she wasn't happy about it. In fact the blue haired girl decided to study. Yes study. You read that right. She herself was even more shocked than anybody else.

_It's a beautiful Tuesday and I'm not going to smoke or drink? What are you doing to me, Caulfield..._

But Chloe needed to do some catching up. And _some_ was putting it mildly. Missing two years of schools left a big hole. It was not like Chloe was stupid or anything like that, but some thinks could just not be acquired only with logical thinking. Reading Shakespeare's theater plays for example. She had read some of them already, and kind of liked them to be honest. But that was one of her little guilty pleasures. Like rainbows. But what would become out of her punk image if someone would see her reading Shakespeare while wearing a rainbow t-shirt. _Unacceptable_.

_This little freckled bookworm would not stop talking about it if I told her I actually do enjoy certain reads. She would probably bury me in recommendations..._

But before she even realized it herself her handy was already vibrating with a message from Max. It said that she had finished school for today and they could meet up again.

_So late already? God, don't tell me Willy was a time wizard as well._

She did like the plays but deciding between them and her girlfriend was no hard choice. She tossed Othello on her bed, put on her jacket and rushed into her truck.

* * *

_She did write that her classes were over for today, so I guess she's waiting for me at the lot again?_

But she didn't see her beloved hipster girl as she parked her truck, instead there were Warren and a Asian looking girl standing next to each other talking about something. Chloe, bold as she was, jumped out of her truck and yelled an "Yooo, Warren!"

The nerd immediately turned around upon hearing his name. "Oh, hey Chloe! Wait, are you even allowed on campus after what you did to Max yesterday. I could swear I saw a wanted poster of you hanging in the hallway. 'To much punk. Approach at own risk.' Was how they phrased it i think." Warren quipped back.

"It says 'to approach' at all? Pfff, that means they don't take me serious enough yet."

"What are you guys talking about?" The girl next to them asked with an riddled expression over her face.

"Oh, just goofing around, sorry. Ahem. Let me introduce you. Chloe, Brooke. Brooke, Chloe."

 _So that's the infamous Brooke._ The blue haired girl thought while inspecting the girl. _Oho, already setting sails for new booty, Warren. Never would've guested he was that kind of Casanova though, already having a new babe. Good for him though... I heard it's not healthy to have someone like me as your rival if Max is involved._

"Heyo Brooky Brooke!" The punk waved enthusiastically at her with one of her hands. _None of my business. Still wishing our nerdy boy good luck. He deserves it after beating Nathan in the other timeline._

The nerdy girl gave Chloe a small smile while nodding with her head. A somewhat normal motion one could think, but in her whole face was screaming. " _Don't. disturb. our. talk."_

The blue haired girl wasn't sure what to make out of that expression. _Jesus_ , _what's her problem? Even I normally don't gaze at people like that, and they say that I'm the bad one. Maybe I did disturb their flirting? Heh, Maximus was right about the jealous part._ But before the punk could say anything Warren asked "You're probably waiting for Max? She said she would meet someone and rushed ahead after classes."

"Oho, nice deductive skills Wartson." But where was her freckled girlfriend if she rushed ahead?

Brooke on the other hand looked like she just got slapped. The nerdy girl had been so hostile towards Chloe that she didn't even really think until then about who the blue haired girl could be. "Ahhh, you're the girl everyone's talking about!"

The punk needed a moment before understanding that the rumors must've spread about Max's and Chloe's kissing while standing between all those students. "Yep. That's me. The awesome punk and occasionally delinquent Chloe Price." The blue haired girl said while pointing at herself with both her thumbs.

"Occasionally delinquent?... No offense but is that something to brag about?"

"Course it is! You just need to be stylish while doing mischief. Which I obviously am."

Brooke snorted. Her whole hostility had vanished as fast as it had come. "Yea, right. By the way I think I saw her talking with an security guard, uhm, just few minutes ago."

Chloe froze on the spot. She didn't need to ask how this guardsman looked like. It was obvious that David was talking to her girlfriend. The big question was why he would approach Max and not her, but Chloe would find out soon. Right now she could only guess though.

 _He scared of someone barking back at him? That's why he harasses my little girl now? What a dickhead!_ The punk thought while her fists clenched together. She tried to calm herself down while slowly breathing through her nose. It didn't really work.

"You, ehh, don't remember how he looked like, do you? The guardsman I mean." _Just asking to make sure. Maybe it's not him after all._

But of course Brooke's description fit David perfectly. _Great_.

"What could someone like Chillax Max do to piss some guard off? There's no way they would have a reason to scold her." Chloe tried to play it cool. Nobody needed to know that she was living with David Madsen, head of security, under the same roof. She didn't care about it very much, but she feared it could hurt Max's school image. And that was one of the last things the punk wanted. She knew how insecure her small girlfriend could be sometimes.

"To be honest, it didn't look like he was yelling at her. He didn't even look angry."

 _Didn't even look angry? And here I thought that was the only thing his face could manage to do._ "Could you please tell me where that was, Brooke? I'm kinda worried about her."

"Sure. You know our girls dorm, don't you?"

"Okay. Thanks." And before the nerdy girl could say anything further the punk was already gone.

With quick steps Chloe was stomping over the grass but before she even reached the girls dorm the punk stopped her every movement. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she saw Max coming towards her. Max had an rather... amused look on her face. _What the fuck happened?_ Was the only thing in Chloe's mind while she jogged the last bit between them.

"You won't believe what just happened, Che."

"let me guess... Step-hole approached you."

"I, uhm... Wait a second! Someone tipped you off."

"Nope, it's just my inner Sherlock on fire today." Chloe obviously lied, "But that's not important right now. Just tell me he didn't scream at you like he usually does."

"No... No he didn't." The brunette fell into silence.

"C'mon... Let this be a warning. I will hella tickle you if you don't spill the beans."

For a moment the freckled girl stayed quiet but then shook her head and a small smile appeared on her lips. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that it sounds really weird... Because it was really really weird after all."

"Sooooo."

"He gave me _the talk_. Or at least he tried."

"The... talk?"

"Y'know. _The talk_. 'Don't hurt my precious little one'. This talk."

"No way in hell he did that. Wh-Why would he? Isn't he like, I don't know,- a super fanboy of you after being the one who discovered Jefferson's fucked up bunker?" Chloe asked while simultaneously thinking: _Apropos, still need to finish this damn journal of feels... She was at the Dark Room, but what happened afterwards? How did Max end up in the bathroom again?..._

"Well, yes. He is. And that was probably part of the reason why his try was so half-assed. But hey, let's first get out of Blackwell, okay?" Mad proposed. She also kind of guessed already that it wouldn't be the coolest thing to happen if everyone knew that David Madsen was Chloe's stepdad.

"Uhm, okay." And after looking at her surrounding for a bit she understood why the freckled girl wanted to leave. There were actually still people starring at them. _Hoping to see some action? You can fuck off guys._ "You're right."

* * *

"Sooo, the talk?" The bigger girl asked rather uncertain of what to expect.

"Yep. He approached me with an-" Max tried to use a chesty voice so that it would sound more like David. "-'hey Max, could you come over real quick. Need to tell you something.' And so I did, not really knowing what to expect from this." Max looked at her girlfriend who was having an expression on her face that asked _"Why would you go with that asshole?"_ so she told her girlfriend that she didn't think that he would rage on her while being near so many students. While talking the two of them playfully buried each others foots in the sand.

"That's so... _Hella_ not like him. With an emphasis on the hella."

The freckled girl quirked one of her eyebrows upon hearing that. "Why is it so unlike him? He does care about you, Chloe." And immediately saw that the blue haired girl was not fond of that statement.

"I've been there, Maximus. _He just screams at me because that's his way of being worried... He wants to help... Give him a chance, Chloe..._ He never game me a fucking chance to begin with!"

"From the very beginning you two couldn't stand each other?... I didn't know that." She asked to make sure.

"Pretty much. The first two or three days were okayish, but once he saw that I was smoking with Rachel in my room all hope was lost. He yelled at us for good ten minutes."

"Geez. Reminds me of... Never mind." The brunette stopped her train of thoughts before reaching the awkward-lands of the other timelines again.

But the punk, cunning as she was, finished Max's sentence. "-This one time in the other timeline?"

"Yeah..." The brunette felt uncomfortable talking about it because she knew that Chloe had her problems with all of it. _Which I totally can understand. It would be so much weirder to just take all that crazy stuff in and be like 'Oh, okay.'_ Max thought.

The punk on the other hand rolled with her eyes and looked somewhat annoyed. "I won't be angry with you if you just remember something from it. Those are your memories after all."

"I, uhm... Sorry."

"Don't worry. I won't place some mind-embargo, so just chillax Max!"

"I will try... Anyways, where was I? Right. Me and David went right before the janitor's coop where he started explaining that he didn't want to see you getting hurt all over again and that you had been through enough."

"That's so wrong. I can never be through enough Caulfield, if you know what I mean." The bigger girl said while wiggling with her eyebrows.

The hippie retorted, "The only one stopping you from that is you, just to make things clear. Miss Let's-wait-for-the-perfect-moment." with a sassy tone in her voice.

"Serious foul play, Zinédine Maxine. You said waiting was okay!" Chloe halfheartedly pouted.

"Sorry, that was probably below the belt... Not... Sadly." Instead of an answer she got a playful nudge against her shoulder from Chloe. Max giggled while winking at the girl sitting next to her in the sand.

"Why is it that you become so snarky when I'm with you, Caulfield?"

"You bring out my good side."

"More like you're gay side."

The brunette couldn't suppress a chuckle. "As far as you're concerned that's pretty much the same, isn't it? Ahem, let's not get distracted now."

"Aww, why not? Distraction is more fun."

"Chloe, we should really talk about David, even if you don't like it."

The punk let out a groan-ish "Fine."

"Listen, I told you before didn't I, he was the one who saved me in the other timeline... After all he was the one who killed Jefferson, after hearing that you w-were... dea...dead."

"Again." The blue haired girl added cynically.

"Y-yea... A-anyways, I, uhm..." Chloe could see that Max was having a rather hard time to talk about it still. "I can't hate him." She finally said. "He was there to save me, Che. And he would've done the same for you... No, he would've tried even more so."

Right at that moment Max witnessed a weird change in Chloe's facial expression. Her blue eyes evaded Max's. Her eyelids narrowed and one of her mouth-corners was raised in displeasure. _She's angry? That David saved me?_ But before she could ask anything regarding Chloe's feelings, the punk confessed , "I should've been there." That was when Max realized it as well. _No... she's not angry. She's jealous!_

"Chloe... You literally couldn't be there."

"I want to protect you, Max." The punk said while starring at her intensively. "And I'm certain that I wanted to in the other timeline as well!"

Before the smaller girl answered with "You did what you could." She made a mental note of Chloe not differentiating between her and... well _her_ from the other timeline.

"But it wasn't enough..." Chloe said in a low voice evading Max gaze again, until the bigger girl felt a hand gently touching her cheeks, guiding her face back to her girlfriends.

"It _is_ enough. No, even more than that."

The punk pulled her beanie down so that it was covering most of her face. " _Fuck_.. I... I just feel so guilty for not stopping..."

"I get it, Che... You said it yourself, didn't you? It'll stay in the past... Sometimes you really are too gentle, y'know?"

Upon hearing that the blue haired girl snorted. "Hell I'm not... I'm not better than David."

That surprised the freckled girl. Hating him was one thing, but an inferior complex? She didn't know what to do with this new side of Chloe so Max just asked, "How did you mean that?"

"He slapped me once, did you know that?"

 _Oh, Chloe... And I hoped I saved you from that at least..._ "... Well... Yea... You can probably remember that I wrote in my journal that I defended you when he found out you smoked weed in your room, but... I used my power before doing so..."

"If he truly wants to protect me... then I'm not better than him." And with a bitter voice she added, "Not one bit."

Was she referring to the one time she hit Max? She had already said that she wasn't angry or anything! But the freckled girl guessed saying that repeating herself wouldn't do the trick, wouldn't wash away the guilt of it. No she also knew _guilt_ was something sticky that would stay with you. It'll always linger somewhere, and when the day comes where you think everything is maybe looking good for once it jumps out of it's lair like the bogyman and pulls you back down.

Chloe's voice pulled her back into the present. "I... I promised that I would protect you, but what have I done so far? A psycho kidnapped you, then another fucking psycho threatened you and all I did was to... to hit you. I know, I know, to be in the doldrums isn't helping at all. W-we should probably focus on getting David to help us in to the office so that we can finally wrap all this fucked up shit up."

There it was again, the typical hiding from the truth Max was all so familiar with. But the conversation with Mr Walker had shown her that she shouldn't just forget. Both of them needed to _overcome_ their problems. The freckled girl let out a sigh, then turned her body towards her girlfriend while sitting herself cross-legged. She took Chloe's hands and held them firmly. "We need to stop this."

"Yeah... We will stop this whole fucking family."

"I'm not talking about the Prescott's, Che."

"Uhm..."

"We need to stop the running away. The blaming. The endless guilt-tripping we put ourselves through ever fucking day."

For a moment the punk was surprised. But after a few seconds she understood what Max was talking about and knew that her girlfriend was right. _But it's not so easy!_ She said to herself. "...B-But I can't just be happy with myself like that..." The blue haired girl confessed eyes full of sadness.

And Max needed some time before she could phrase an answer. "Then let me be happy for you. Just like you're for me. Can't that be enough?"

"...We just love to talk ourselves down, don't we?"

"Yeah. Kinda sucks."

"We really suck then... I love you, Caulfield, y'know that?" The punk's expression slowly changing from pure sadness to something... something else Max couldn't quiet make out. "And I know you love me too..." Chloe now started playing with Max's hands. For quiet some time there were no words spoken between the two of them but then the blue haired girl suddenly started to chuckle. "I've always been thinking of how I can be improve myself for you, but in truth this was just selfishness."

"Chloe... You're not selfish..."

"Hella am. Just listen, I never thought about what _you_ really care about. I got blinded by the idea of needing to be good... or even better than that. But in the end it just hurt you... My selflessness turned into selfishness, so to say."

At first the brunette wanted to disagree again, but then she hesitated. Wasn't the blue haired girl somewhat right? She never wanted Chloe to pull herself through guilt and all that shit. Or to even have a job or anything like that. Max just wanted them to be happy. _But that makes me just as selfish doesn't it?_ Once thinking that she needed to speak her mind. "If you're selfish then I'm the queen of egoism because the same applies pretty much to me, doesn't it? I put myself in emo mood without thinking how you feel about it sometimes as well. If you're guilty of it, then so am I."

"Well... Ehmm... If you say it like that... Probably yes?"

"Not so certain anymore, are you?" Max couldn't help but laugh. She knew that Chloe just didn't want to offend her.

"Ahhh, shut up." The punk retorted with a smirk.

After that realization that pure selflessness could indeed be a selfish act, both of them just sat there in the sand hands in hands and looked upon the sea until the freckled girl decided to break the comfortable silence. "You're amazing Chloe, you know that?"

"I think you meant that I'm hella amazeballs!"

"So instead of beating ourselves down we need to get back up and start living a happy life. Sounds _strange_."

"Not as strange as dating a punk girl while being a total nerd yourself."

"Maybe... Maybe strange is good then?" Max said while a smile appeared on her lips.

"Maybe it is." The punk agreed while slowly starting to lean in so that she could kiss the smiling lips of her girlfriend. Soft warm smiling lips. The hippie moved back for just a moment, more out of a reflex, but upon feeling Chloe's hot breath on her skin she couldn't help but move back into the kiss and deepen it. Tongue met tongue. Hands gently caressed cheeks and hair. And then it was over already, and none of them knew if it had been too long or too short, but both of them knew that it still felt wonderful to kiss each other.

The smaller girl took the opportunity and cuddled herself in Chloe's lap, and laid her head against her chest. The bigger girl slung her arms around the brunette and rested her chin on Max's head. Now both of them were facing the sea again. And there it was again. The silence that none of them minded. With any other person it would be uncomfortable, but the two girls just didn't need to utter any words sometimes. They just knew that the other one was there.

They looked at the waves crashing into the sand and the sun hanging over them. Quiet an inspiring landscape. Then the brunette noticed something.

"Somehow the sea reminds me of you, Che."

"It does?"


	25. A freeing smile

"I want to shoot photos again!"

In the first few seconds Chloe was surprised by that statement but then she quickly got a grip of herself again. She then sighed a "Finally."

"I can't be scared because of some asshole for the rest of my life. Can't let him win, you know what I mean?"

"Exactly! If you let them control you with fear then you give those bastards what they want." The punk was happy. She always knew that Max was a strong one but now there was even more proof of her it. She would break through every struggle... unlike Chloe herself...

 _Stop it already!_ The punk interrupted her own thoughts. _I know that I'm not perfect, but trying to improve myself doesn't mean that I have to beat myself down!_ Instead she stood up and while looking down on her still sitting girlfriend she said, "Hell, it's about time."

"Really? Didn't even know you played Starcraft."

"Naaaa, but they make pretty awesome cinematic animations. Anyways, be right back." She turned around and started jogging towards the truck she parked just a few meters from them away.

"H-Hey, where you going?" Max decided to go after her. _What is she up to now?_

As the freckled girl reached the truck Chloe was rummaging her glove box.

_She's looking for something?_

Max stepped behind her to see if she could get a glimpse at what her girlfriend was looking for.

"Still nosy as always, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't be if you just told-"

"Ahh, there it is!" The punk interrupted her as she turned around. "Here, it's yours." The hands reaching out for Max where holding William's old camera.

"Chlo..."

"Don't say you can't take it. Technically you already did."

"But won't you feel, uhm... I don't know, bad? You said it yourself, you don't want to copy the you from the other timeline more than necessary."

"This _is_ necessary. Maxine Caulfield without a camera is not Maxine Caulfield. I thought about giving it to you since you broke yours when you fell unconscious on Friday. It really bugged me how you didn't give any hint of wanting a new one at all."

"Well..."

" _Now_ I get it as well, don't get me wrong. After reading your those parts of the journal and seeing you breaking down afterwards I must be an idiot to not get it. But still, I always assumed you wouldn't stop forever. Just a little creative pause one could say, right?"

Max couldn't hide her happiness on her face. A big smile ran from ear to ear. Not because she would get William's awesome camera again, but because Chloe was trying to deal with the whole time travel stuff. "... Chloe Price, how can you be so god damn... perfect! You mushy punk!"

"Everything for the booty." The bigger girl winked at her.

Instead of retorting something Max went on her tiptoes and gave her a peck full of love on Chloe's lips and then said "Thank you."

"Everything for the booty." The punk repeated with a grin on her face. "Wanna test it out?" Then her eye quirked upwards and she corrected herself. "Well, you already did so it's not really testing, is it?"

"Let's just call it inaugurating, okay? You dork. By the way, you know if there's a film inside?"

"Who do you take me for?" The punk said loudly while putting her hands on her hips. "I even bought a few extra films for ya!"

"You're seriously the best, you know that?"

Chloe let out an _"Hehe."_ , and then looked around to inspect the surrounding. "What's it gonna be? A shot of the romantic sea? Or maybe the mysterious forest behind us?"

"I already have a perfect motive, but thanks." Max answered while still looking at the bigger girl.

"You're first photo is gonna be a selfie with me?"

"I think it's pretty fitting, don't ya?" But before Chloe could answer the freckled girl stepped closer to her and pulled her down a bit, so that their heads were on the same height. Cheeks preshed againt each other, while both of them were grinning. "I guess I do... but wouldn't it be better like _this_?" As she said that she gave Max a peck on the cheek right as the _click_ of the camera went off.

Both girls watched with anticipation as the photo came out of the camera. Slowly the white unfolded a picture of two girls standing behind a rusty old truck. Max had one of her eyes closed. The one on the side that Chloe was kissing. Still there was a bright smile on her lips and her white teeth were showing. The green behind the truck that was part of a blurry forest was melting with the blue of Chloe's hair. The punk herself was not looking at the camera at all, her whole being was focused on the smaller girl in front of her, giving her a kiss while smiling.

"... You still got it Max!"

"N-no... The photo just turned good because you were in it." The brunette was downplaying again, while a her cheeks slightly blushed.

"Still shy about your talent." The blue haired girl let out a sigh. "Some things won't ever change will they?"

"Like you and your cocky mouth!" Max retorted. But the truth was that the freckled girl could feel it as well. The loath she felt towards photography was fading away as Chloe's smile was getting more and more developed on the photo.

"If you don't like it, can I snatch it from you? I think this is my new Max-Caulfield-favorite."

"I could make you a copy."

"So you do like it! You were so angling for compliments, are you not?"

The smaller girl gave a sarcastic, "Sure." while putting the photo into her bag but before doing so she glimpsed once more at it. _You won't come at my wall, don't worry. I'll treasure you._

"But don't forget Budō-Max, talent is something you polish." Chloe reminded the brunette. And the bigger girl was right. After those last few grim yet beautiful days, shooting a photo again... It felt like she hadn't done that in years. She could feel the nostalgic itching of her fingers. She wanted to take photos. Of Chloe. Herself. The run down truck. The sea. Chloe again. And just everything. But this had to wait. in a few days she would be able to fully get back into photography.

Then it shattered. One simple thought blew her good mode away like nothing. _I could use this if something goes south again._ The same moment the idea popped in her head she immediately was angry at herself. _I can't expect to solve everything with-_

"Max? Everything cool up there?" The punk asked as she flicked against Max's forehead.

"H-Hey!"

"Maxine dot exe just stopped working for a moment." Chloe said these words like they were meant as a joke but her face was not showing any amusement at all anymore. She knew that something was bugging her girlfriend.

The freckled girl closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath in. There was no need to lie to Chloe, not that there was the slightest chance that the punk wouldn't notice if she did. So Max decided that she would try to be honest with her. "I had a... pretty fucked thought just now. I thought that I could... use this photo as some kind of checkpoint of anything goes wrong. You know, like the one that let me get back to Wil-... W-When we where kids." She quickly corrected herself. There was no need to open yet another bottle of emotions. Right now at least.

The blue haired girl started massaging her eyes while letting out an "Hmmm." But then her gaze returned to Max's face and with a firm voice she said, "To be fair, this is a good idea."

 _Chloe... You did not just say that... You don't know what you're talking about_. And as if Chloe could read her mind she explained, "I know, Max. But just think about it. Even if everything works as we planned it, nobody has said that it'll be enough to help us against Sean Prescott. What if... if it's not enough?"

"D-don't say that, Chlo... I always... always used my power only after something went wrong. I always ran from own decisions and their consequences. I need to stand up for myself, if I always relay on the rewind then I won't archive anything in a honest way."

"Your powers leaded you to me though. So that's not too bad." The punk shrugged.

The smaller girl wasn't pleased by that response, but couldn't disagree either. _She's right, everything that brings us together, automatically has a plus point on my 'The-most-awesome-things'-spectrum._ "But even if that's true, I still should try to stand on my own, after all I don't even know if I still got my powers. I never used them once since I came back, and I sure as hell won't try without a good reason for it."

"Okay, that's understandable, but we should take the possibility of not making it in account at least, shouldn't we?" Max could clearly tell that Chloe wasn't sulking over anything, rather she was trying to figure out what their best option was at the moment. The freckled girl herself couldn't even disagree with the punk's reasoning, even if the idea was eating away all the confidence she managed to build up in the last few days. "But for now, uhm... We should focus on convincing Step-ass. Let's not waste to much energy thinking about what could happen, getting lost in future and past isn't my job after all." She said while winking at the smaller girl. "I just wanted to say that we shouldn't forget it, okay?" The punk explained further.

Slowly the little girl was getting back some composure. "Yes. David. How're we gonna do this? First of all what about his gun?"

"Hmm, yeah well..."

"Don't tell me you held on to it."

"N-No! I really tried to put it back, but as soon as he noticed that something was missing he switched the locks and now I can't get in anymore..." This didn't sound good in Max's ears.

"Does he know that it was you?"

"Let's be real Maxipasti, who else would know where he stores his firearms _and_ at the same time knows where he has the keys?"

Max let out a sigh. _Now we have to deal with convincing him while explaining that Chloe stole his gun?..._ "This won't be easy."

The blue haired girl scratched her head, as she weighted the odds of either lying to David or just not mentioning the gun at all, but then she shook her head in denial of both options. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a right to be angry and she had to apologize for it. "I'll be straight with him. I'll explain that I stole the gun to protect you from criminals."

For a moment the brunette was silent. She looked like she was thinking deeply about something, and then she said, "Never thought I would hear the word straight come out of your mouth like ever."

A loud snort came out of Chloe's nose. "Really?! Perfect timing Maxipad. Ten out of ten definitely."

"Sorry, couldn't help myself there."

"To be honest I'm quiet relived that you're able to joke like that. For a moment I thought you would shut yourself away again."

"Yea... I'm trying I guess..." for a moment Max's blue eyes fell on the floor, while suddenly being full of sadness, but before Chloe could react to it they jumped back and she went on saying, "A-Anyways now we need to convince him and explain why we had his gun. Things juts got even harder..." And then she added in a low voice, "Wouldn't have happened if you didn't steal the gun."

"Max, we talked about it." The punk pouted.

"I know. I know. Just saying."

For a few moments the two of them were silent once more. Both of them didn't want to start a fight again, knowing that even with all the reasoning the other one had they would still disagree with each other on this topic. Then the punk pulled out her smartphone and started tipping on it until Max asked, "What are you doing?"

"I just thought that the best thing we could do would be calling him, so that we can meet up as soon as possible. Just the three of us." The punk explained while emphasizing once more that she didn't want Joyce to know of their situation.

"Uhm... okay? Didn't even know you had his number."

"Mom gave it to me at some point. If something bad ever happens, she said... Like I would call him first then, yeah right. But even with everything I put her through she's still worried about me."

"Yeah... Joyce is a strong person."

The blue haired girl could feel how emotions started boiling up inside of her. Pride, love, guilt and a betrayal. She quickly wanted to change the direction this conversation was heading. "A-Anyways, we just gonna ask him if we could meet up soon?"

"Pretty much."

"... I really don't want to though..." Chloe put on a grimace of displeasure.

"Che, c'mon. Woman up!"

"But... But..." Chloe pouted while giving Max puppy eyes.

The freckled girl blinked a few times and then understood what the bigger girl was trying. "Ohhhh, are you cereal? You want _me_ to call him, don't you?

"Well... I wouldn't mind if you did." The punk said rather suggestive, but then she let out a sigh after seeing the denying expression of her girlfriend. "Okay, okay. You won, I get it."

The punk touched her smartphone to start the phone-call. Max could faintly hear the beep-sounds then there was a click and, " _Chloe! Stay calm, just tell me where you are and I'll be there!"_ The stepdad screamed through the phone.

"Uhm... Everything's fine?"

_"Everything is... Jesus Christ and here I thought something bad happened to you."_

"N-No. Not worse than usually at least." Chloe didn't know what to answer, or how she should start the conversation. _This is hella weird! He was worried? Because of me? Well, I guess I wouldn't normally call him but... Sergeant Pepper wouldn't worry about me like that, would he?_ "W-We need to, ehm, talk." It blurted out of Chloe, not knowing how to phrase it any better.

_"Talk? What's going on? You really are in some kind of mess again, right? What is it this time? Did the cops found you with some kind of drug again?"_

"I wish that it would be so simple, but no, this time I'm in it up to my chin. Me and Max to be precise."

_"Max? Maxine Caulfield?"_

"Who else could I mean?"

There was no answer, just silence on the other side of the phone. After a few moments Chloe realized that he was waiting for her reason to call.

"I don't want mom to get involved, and we really need your help. Would it be okay if we talk over everything in private?"

_"... When?"_

"As soon as possible to be honest. Today would be perfect, but tomorrow would be okay as well, I guess."

_"If this is one of your pranks, soldier..."_

"My god, can't you trust me just once in your life?"

Another moment of silence and the punk was already thinking that she maybe did mess up their plan, but then David said, _"Okay. Today is probably better if it's so urging. You two know a spot where we can talk in private?"_

"Uhm... Ah, yes! The docks are pretty much deserted since Prescott took over the fishing business."

 _"Yeah you're right. All the ships go to Astoria nowadays. I heard that there is some kind of HQ. Well anyways, I'll be at the docks at ten."_ Click. He hang up without waiting for an answer.

The brunette looked surprised and somewhat worried as she realized that David had ended the call. "Did he just hung up on you? Don't tell me..."

"No, no. Everything's fine... I think?" Chloe went on to explain what David had said.

"I hope you don't mind probably being late for school tomorrow." The punk said afterwards.

"You are so more important than one more day I miss school, trust me Che." Max answered. But at the same time she could already feel her gut cramping together. S _o not tomorrow but today, huh... Well the faster the better but I still want this to be over with as soon as possible._ The freckled girl thought.

"Sooo, we just gonna wait now? Still got like half a day left before it's time to meet him." The punk said. "Wanna watch some movies in the luxurious penthouse, some call my home?"

"Hmm, sounds tempting to be honest, but I got homework to do..." Of course cuddling and chilling with Chloe was something she would be ecstatic about, but she knew that the algebra homework wouldn't solve itself.

"Ahh, there it begins! They try to separate us! They know what a due like we could do!"

"They?"

"It's a long running conspiracy against the girl that went back in time. It all started with the first school Aristotle created. Those long bearded nudists knew from the very beginning!"

The freckled girl shook her head but at the same time couldn't stop a small snicker. "Yeah right. You're such a dork sometimes." The truth was though that she was thankful for it . Both of them knew that the punk was acting like that to distract Max from all this headache creating shit they were in right now.

"You love it."

 _You don't even know how much._ Click. The punk was dazzled for a moment when the flash hit her face. Just moments later Max was holding a new photo in her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now. ^^
> 
> I know the story progression is rather slow right now, but I kind of wanted some more time for Chloe and Max to sort things out. The next chapters will be faster again. (I think) :P


	26. Mistakes of our (step-)ancestors

"Max! Hey Max! Maaaaaax. _Maxine_."

"What!"

"Ha, you finally looked."

"Chloe I want to finish those freaking questions... Just tell me what you want."

"... Hey."

"Hey what?"

"- can I do, I got a woman, she won't be true." Chloe quoted Led Zeppelin's _"Hey Hey what can I do?"_ The brunette just groaned in return. "Wanna come over on the couch? It's veeeerrrry comfortable. I heard that punk-pillows have a plus ten roll on comfyness!" The punk asked as she patted at the place next to her while smiling a smile of mischief.

"God damn it." The freckled girl rolled her blue eyes as she turned around again, giving the punk the cold shoulder.

"But Maaaax."

Right then the door knocked and the two of them could hear Kate saying, "Hey, everything alright in there? I just heard Chloe scream Max's name over and over again."

"Just come in lady-jesus!" Chloe yelled at the door while still lying stretched out over the whole sofa. The door was opened and Kate Marsh came inside the room, with a worried look.

"Max is doing... homework?" Kate asked because she obviously expected something more urgent to be the case.

"And I would love to finish it but some attention addicted punk can't wait for ten minutes."

The blonde girl let out a sigh of relief. "And here I thought something serious was going on. One can hear Chloe's voice over the whole corridor, you know? The walls are pretty thin."

"Jesus, see what you're doing, Che? Just think about everyone not as innocent as Kate who heard you scream..."

"Maybe that was exactly my plan, little Miss Einfield."

Kate came over to the freckled girl and looked over her shoulder. "You can just take the formula for that one from the book you know?" She explained while pointing at the question the freckled girl was working on. "Miss Grant showed it us... last week."

"See? That's exactly why I need to catch up, Chloe..."

The blue haired girl was making a pouting grimace with her underlips yet again. "You see how strict Maximus is to me?"

"It doesn't look like it really concerns you though." Kate retorted after a letting out a small snicker.

The plain truth was that Chloe knew why Max was being so tense like that right now. The brunette, just like Chloe herself, was thinking about what might happen tonight.

_Meting David will be intense. I haven't really talked to him since this one time Max pretty much forced me to. I know she did it with good intentions but... I still resent him. For being so aggressive all the time. For blowing in my face all the time... For stealing Mom from Dad... And from me... How can anyone expect me to flip a switch and start liking him out of nowhere? But maybe... Maybe I was to hard on him as well. Geez._

"Okay. Thanks Kate, I think now I got everything covered for the next few days." Max pulled Chloe out of her thoughts.

"No problemo. So, anything going on today with you two?" Kate asked.

"Not rea-"

"Me and Max wanted to go on a date today, so don't worry about her if she doesn't come back. She'll probably sleep at my house today." The punk quickly interrupted the smaller girl.

For a moment the freckled girl was perplexed but quickly realized that this was a pretty solid cover-up story. The blonde girl on the other hand delightedly clapped in her hands. "A date? That's so cute! May I ask what you two want to do?"

 _Fuck_. Both of them thought simultaneously.

On one side Max was really happy that the few friends she had took the whole gay thing pretty well. Even Warren was writing his usual goofy texts to her, and wasn't showing as much hurting as Max expected. And Kate being so happy for the two of them was a great feeling as well, but right now it was kind of backfiring. "I, uhmm..." Max started. "... Chloe wanted to surprise me so I don't know yet." The brunette shrugged in hope that it would make it seem more believable.

"Ohhh, a mysterious date at night. Chloe Price I didn't know you had a romantic slummer inside of you!"

"That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun!" The punk quoted in a high pitched voice.

Max turned around with a face full of shock. "What the... Chlo, you actually readRomeo and Julia?!"

"Of course the bookworm immediately knows where the quote is from..." The bigger girl retorted with a smile on her face.

"Wait, wait, wait. You just quoted Shakespeare and then called _me_ a bookworm?" Max countered while a small grin ran over her lips as well.

Kate couldn't contain her giggling any longer.

"That's not funny Kati! Max is really getting sassier by the minute!"

But Kate just respond with, "Love hath made thee a tame snake."

"C'mon Chlo, tell us where this is from." Max teased.

"Welp. Don't say I didn't warn you." Chloe said and right afterwards jumped on her feet and quickly rushed over to Max. "Let the punishment begin!"

Max didn't have a lot of room to defend herself, she was still sitting in the chair and tried to hold her girlfriend away with her foots, but that tactic didn't stop a punk like Chloe. While the two of them were fighting a tickle-battle Kate stood next to the sofa and was holding her hands on her tummy because she was laughing so much. A few tickles and pinches later the two of them stopped and Chloe slowly went on her legs again.

"What are you laughing at, Marsh?" She asked with a serious undertone in her voice.

The blonde who was rather surprised didn't know what to say at that moment. "I ehm, well you two were having so much fun, that I just started laughing by myself."

"You think this is funny? Do I look like a motherfucking clown to you?"

"I, uhm, ehh?" As she was looking for an answer Max and Chloe tackled her on the sofa and what with their combined strength they started torturing Kate with a barrage of even more tickling. For the crying and screaming Kate it was just funny goofing around between friends, and that what it was essentially.

But for the partners in time it was also a good change to kill some time before they would eventually meet up with David. The rest of the day would not be as lighthearted as it was right now, of that Chloe and Max were certain.

* * *

The docks were silent. If one payed attention to it one could hear the summing of a few insects flying towards the light shining out of the street light. Aside from that there was just the rushing sound the water under the planks made.

Next to the lamp was an old wooden bench a middle aged man was sitting on. Waiting.

His arms were resting on his knees and his head hang between his shoulders. The shadows were lingering playfully around his hard face, creating a mask of darkness which didn't let anyone know what kind of expression he had. It was fitting, because even David himself didn't really know what he should be expecting in this situation.

 _Chloe called me... Even if I put aside the fact that she can't stand my guts, for somewhat understandable reasons, that's not really what is unsettling me._ The grown up man went through the short conversation for what felt like the thousandth time, but even now he couldn't grasp an idea of what he should expect.

_Her voice though... Even if we don't get along, I know Chloe. She wouldn't fake a voice so full of concerns and show it to me. It could be seen as weakness after all, and she wouldn't want me of all people to see her being weak. The only two people Chloe would show such a fragile side of herself would be either her mother or her... girlfriend._

He scratched his moustache. _Maxine Caulfield... What am I supposed to think of you after all? Hero? Lucky survivalist? Victim? Obviously I am thankful that she stopped Jefferson before he could hurt anyone else._ B _efore he could hurt Joyce little girl._

A smile, hidden from the shadows, appeared on his face. _Joyce knew. Of course she did. She always was good at seeing through people's heads._

At first he didn't really believe it when he first heard about the passionate kiss between his stepdaughter and the hero of Blackwell. He shrugged it off as " _Just rumors."_ But then Joyce divulged the secret, or well not-secret, to him. They were an item. Chloe was a lesbian. At first it took him off-guard.

 _Didn't she have some punk boyfriends?_ _But well, Joyce also said that she was having feelings for Rachel once... Poor girl._ He would still need time to adjust to the fact that his stepdaughter was homosexual, but he also knew that he of all people should just stay quiet about it.

_Everything I would say would just sound like I'm some_ _homophobic. But still,_ _I'm scared that both of them carry so much pain in them already that there won't be enough space for each other anymore._

The man feared that the two of them would only hurt each other in the end. _While Maxine seems like a nice girl she... She probably has some deep wounds as well. Being abused like that by a person you trust... It must've broken something inside of her._

He was pulled out of thoughts when he noticed that slowly two shadowy figures were approaching him. It was already so dark that at first he only heard the cracking of the rotten wood under their feet. Most of the docks was not taken care of. The lamps were broken mostly and everywhere were holes inside the floor. David always expected someone to get hurt as they crash through the planks.

He straightened himself, still sitting in the wooden bench, and waited for the pair to come into the light.

A bluenette with a black leather jacket, beanie on her head, black combat boots and a blue jeans. A brunette with a green pullover, a camera-bag and brown pants. There they were. Just a quarter of an hour to late. First they call him and then they let him wait? What were those two up to...

"Hey Dave-o, already here I see." Chloe awkwardly greeted him.

A few seconds later Max followed the other girl's example "He-Hello Mr Madsen."

"Hey." He didn't really know what to say so he came straight to the point. "So? What's this all about?" His eyes jumped between the two distinct girls waiting for an explanation.

"Well... That's harder to answer than you might think..."

A sigh escape his lips. "Chloe, I'm really not up to one of your hide and seek games. It's late. It's cold." And after a few moments he added with a low voice, "... And I'm worried."

Hearing that the two girls reacted very differently. While the freckled girl had a somewhat sad smile appear on her lips, Chloe just looked as if she was... disbelieving what the grown man just said. But it wasn't a lie. He was not the best stepdad. Far from it. But he still took a liking to his stepdaughter.

It took a few seconds before something like an answer was given by either of the girls. This time it was Max who spoke up. "First of all, Chloe wants to give you something back." But the blue haired girl didn't move an inch from her position. At least not until the smaller girl shoved her elbow in her sides.

"O-Ouch! Yeah, I know." Her hand moved behind her back and as she brought it back it was holding a gun. _His_ gun. "So you were the one who took it, soldier?" The sole reason why he called her _soldier_ right now was because David knew that the punk hated this nickname.

"Y-Yeah... Well you see-"

"You're god damn thief?"

"No! Well technically yes, but I had a good reason for it!" She raised both of her hands in a defensive manner.

"A good reason to steal?"

He could see a shift in her facial expression. She was getting more and more annoyed by his attitude, wasn't she? "Hey, can't you listen for just one fucking minute? Would a thief give stolen stuff back?" In between her explanation David heard a "Chlo, calm down." Being whispered by the Blackwell student.

He gave both girls a testing stare for a good while before admitting, "... I guess not."

"See?"

"So why did you take it without my permission then? This ain't a toy, Chloe."

"Why? That's an easy question to answer, I already had that discussion with someone else after all." She gave her partner a quick look. "I armed myself to protect those that I love." Those words, said in such a bragging manner, took the veteran by surprise. While letting out yet another sigh, his back crashed against the wood as he let himself fall into the bench. _In every generation there are some idiots who repeat the mistake of their elders... It must be some cruel joke fate cracked on my behalf that our lives collided like that._

"You wanted to do something righteous with my gun? Something good?"

"Exactly!" And to the blue haired girl's confusion a smile appeared on right under David's beard. But for some reason it felt like it wasn't because of what she said. The punk narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Was he having feelings of nostalgia right now? But before she could act in any way, her other half, Max, asked him on her behalf, "You okay, Mr Madsen?"

"... Just call me David, will ya?"

"Uhm, okay?" The freckled girl agreed without getting a real answer from him. _Maybe it reminded him of his time in the army or something?_ She tried to deduct.

"Chloe, I won't judge you for it, but you need to tell me. Did you hurt anyone with it?"

"I..." Yet again there was this weird thing she could feel coming from her stepdad. _Concern? Why would he be worried about me? We're not even family._ "Is that really important?"

"Yes." He responded with a firm voice. "It would be the biggest mistake of your life."

Chloe let out a huff while rolling with her eyes. "Please, even if I did shoot some asshole, I'm hella too smart to get caught."

"I know."

_He knows? So why would it be a mistake then?_

"Chloe Elizabeth Price, I'm not asking because I'm afraid you'll go to jail... I just... know how it feels to hurt people." His hands clenched to fists as he spoke. "And it's something I wish you'll never experience yourself." His head sank back down and his eyes were starring at the floor between his feet. He was ashamed.

Instead of giving some kind of response she just looked kind of baffled at him. She didn't understand it. Why was he trying to protect her? To make himself feel like a good man? To give her mother some delusion of him being a good man? It didn't matter though, because she didn't want... didn't _need_ his protection at all. If she knew one thing then how it felt to be alone in this fucked up world. The only thing the universe had taught her so far was how to take care of herself. Before Rachel and Max no one else would be there for her after all. But what he said next was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"... After all, I know how you feel right now."

"You don't have a damn clue about my feelings!" She said with a loud voice that Max next to her winced. "You're just some veteran who stepped into my life to fuck it up even further as it had been already! You... You are not my _Dad_!" Once the dam was broken things started blurting out of her mouth. Things she knew could cost her and Max a chance to get into Well's office. But as impulsive as she was sometimes, she didn't even think about that before speaking her mind.

"Chloe, let's not go there." Max gently put one of her hands on her upper arm while trying to soothe her. The punk's head jerked in Max's direction, and her wrath immediately turned into grief of what she said. Not because she was feeling apologetic or something like that, but because she was endangering their plan once more.

"I-I..." Chloe stuttered as the shorter girl embraced her. David swore he saw water in her blue eyes, but before he could verify it her face buried into her girlfriend's shoulder. She was torn between her own emotions and the fact that they needed his help supposedly.

"Mr Mads-... _David_ , could you give us a moment?" Max asked the grown man.

"Uhm, sure? I won't go until I know why you two truly called me over anyways. It was obviously not just because of my revolver."

"Ye-yea. Thanks."

The freckled girl took Chloe's hands and pulled her away until it was enough space between them and the bench to think that David maybe wouldn't hear them anymore. "You okay, Che?"

"I'm sorry I, ehm, I lost it for a moment there."

"Don't act though now. I asked if you're okay, not if you can manage to stay quiet. I know that this would be an impossible request for someone like you." Max's sassiness brought a small smirk on Chloe's face, but it vanished as quick as it appeared just to let her face turn more serious again.

"... No, I'm not." The punk narrowed her eyelids. "How can he think that he knows a damn about my feelings?"

"Sometimes people just say stuff like that so that they seem sympathetic."

"Why would he try to be sympathetic?"

"I told you already why."

"Because he likes me? Thinks of me as family?" The blue haired girl wanted those questions to sound cynical, but there was a insecure undertone in them for which she damned herself for.

A male voice answered Chloe's question for the brunette. "That's not it."

The couple was startled at first but before either could answer David explained, "I meant it when I said that I know how you feel Chloe."

"W-We said we needed a moment, man!" The blue haired girl said, still somewhat flustered.

"Well, I could pretty much hear everything you two were saying. It's pretty quiet at night since the Prescotts ruined the fishing in Arcadia after all."

While Chloe was still pulling herself back together, the freckled girl was getting more and more interested in what David meant by his statement. _He knows what Che is going through? Why would he? And if he does, why did he never try to help her in the first place?_

David leaned against the not so save looking railing while turning his back towards the two girls. "Never told you about my time in the army, did I?"

"We barely ever really talked, so of course you didn't." The blue haired girl said after she recollected herself.

"Yeah. Right. I, uhm... Jesus Christ, it sounds so stupid to say it out loud now." He put one of his hands into his face, unseen for the two girls still standing behind him.

"What does, David?" Max asked. Chloe gave her girlfriend a short amused look. Despite everything she was still her nosy self.

"There was a time when I was younger when I... When we wanted to do good as well." He raised his hand in the air and clenched it into a fist. "Protect the country everyone we love lives in, and repel the evil that threatens it." Neither of them asked why he suddenly changed the personal pronoun he used. They just listened to his story.

"First we thought that it would be a good idea to join the police, but A-Adam and I both failed the acceptance test." The couple could hear a muffled chuckle. " _Fuck it_ we said. So we went to the army. At first it was pretty hard with all the training but we were determent to find and fight the _evil_ that we were seeking. Both of us idiots actually somehow managed.

The officer that was training us had a stick so far up his ass Adam used to say... Never mind, I'm getting distracted.

We were ready. Trained and full of resolve to put it to good use against _evil_."

"So you two got deployed? Iraq wasn't it?" Chloe asked.

"Yes. We went there and started our search. But... But there was nothing." His voice was slowly faltering. "Just sand and people. No evil." Upon hearing that the freckled girl was reminded of how Chloe nearly killed Frank Bowers. _He was a major asshole sometimes, but not evil in of itself. He didn't deserve to die in any timeline... even if she killed him for me._

"We expected to find terrorist trying to destroy everything we held dear, but in the end... in the end... there were mostly women and c-children." They saw how he started shacking his head heavily. "This couldn't be it. We wasted all of that time. Adam and me we both had been so sure before, but now we were lost. We needed to get out. Only a few more months and we could return home."

The punk and the hippie both knew what would come next. While the blue haired girl let out a sigh through her nose, the freckled one put one of her hands over her mouth.

"And then he-he _vanished_ in an operation. M-I-A." They heard a sob coming from deep inside of him. "Just a bit more and we could've fled this horror... For what I know he could still be out there. Waiting for me so save him... Yes Chloe, I _know_ how you feel.  
Then I came back to Arcadia and closed my eyes from the evil me and Adam had always searched for. Me being blind and scared killed Rachel. I could've saved her if I just tried a bit more. Her death is on me."

"... Stop that. That's not true... D-David." The punk carefully called him by his first name and not by some offending nickname.

"Course it is!... But we both should count ourselves lucky, Chloe. After I came back to Arcadia, I was broken man. Until I found your mother."

"... Until I found Max."

The security guard nodded approvingly. _She means so much to him, and I always tried to get mom to dump him. I'm the worst..._ Chloe was having a mixture of two feelings right now. She was feeling sorry for David on the one hand, and on the other she was surprised that she was feeling exactly that.

The brunette on the other side was still pretty stunned by the story. _He lost a friend, just like Chlo did... I'm really sorry for him. But something still bugs me._ "Sorry if what I'm gonna ask now offends you but if you have been through something similar why did you act like an ass so much around Chloe?"

He finally turned around after wishing with his sleeve over his face one last time. He wore a stern yet at the same time apologetic facial expression. "You're right. I should've done better. But... deep down I kinda hated you for being like me." His eyes met his stepdaughter's "I mean, every time I saw you like that it reminded me of my own mistakes. Of my own naivete that killed my best friend in the end. If I could just turn back time once... I would drill two things into the younger me. Never go to war and marry the waitress of Two Whales." The freckled girl needed to contain a comment on that.

But what came next surprised both David and Max a lot. The blue haired girl whispered with teary eyes, "I forgive you."

For a moment the middle aged man just stood there, with his mouth open. "Y-you do?... Thank you so much..." David's eyes were watering once more. "I probably should've told you all of this way sooner, but I... I just..."

"I get it. I really do. Some things are just hard to say out loud." The punk said while being reminded of all the times she did those mistakes herself already. "Also, I was never the dream like stepdaughter either.

"Y-yes, well, you have at least good reasons to dislike me..."

Max had not expected such an outcome from their conversation. The two of them finally being at peace, real peace not some kind of truce in behalf of Joyce feelings, was fantastic in her opinion. Despite what would happen next she was happy that at least one of Chloe's wounds could now finally heal, even if it still might leave a scar. But still with tears in her eyes as well, she still needed to break the touching conversation, even if she hated to that. But they still needed to explain why they called him here today.

She hesitated a few more moments, not wanting to break the magic in this moment, but then she still spoke up. "The thing is David... We really need your help."

For a moment both David and Chloe looked rather confused, but at least Chloe gathered herself quickly, as she reminded herself what all this really was about. "Yea, r-right."

"Okay. I'll listen to what you have to say. But I can't promise you two anything without knowing what all of this is about."

"That's fair." The bigger girl said while her shoulders went up and down again. "To cut it short, we need to get into Principal Well's office."

"You what?" And there was the old strict David again. "You want to break into the office of my superior and ask me to help you?"

"Well, that's pretty much it, yep."

his fingers started massaging his nose bridge. "... I need details."

The two of them then started explaining what had happened since Sean Prescott had shown up at their doorstep while obviously not saying a word about things like Max break down or the whole time travel stuff. They stuck to a version close enough to the truth though. Mr Prescott had threatened them and they wanted to dig for dirt on him, so that he wouldn't be able to implement any of them.

"Why Ray's office though? The man may has some problems but do you two really think he would have something to do with the Prescott family?"

"Please, D... David." It was still weird to call him that but Chloe was trying. "There's a whole dorm named after him. Do you really think they ain't buddies? And even if we're wrong, only thing that would happen is that we would find nothing in his office. We would get out again and that's it."

"Hmm..." He scratched his beard while thinking about what his stepdaughter just said. "So I just need to give you the keys so that the alarm won't go off, right?"

"That's all we ask of you, David. You don't need to come with us or anything. And just think about what we found last time when I told you to trust me, right?" Maxine tried to convince him.

He let out one more sigh which signaled his submission. "Okay. I'll trust you two on this. But don't do anything reckless." He pulled a bunch of key out of one of his pockets. "This is for the main door and this-" He showed them a separate key, "-is for the office." Of course neither of the girls said that they were already familiar with the main door at least.

Thanks to all those emotions who boiled up during their talk, convincing him had been a lot easier than the couple had expected. Both of them were glad that this steppingstone was out of the way at least. But now came the real challenge.

 _Only a thousand more to come before we can finally be left alone. First we need to turn every stone once we're were inside. Normally Blackwell isn't very heavily secured unless you make too much noise, so that shouldn't be a problem._ The freckled girl was already thinking ahead of herself.

The punk on the other hand was looking at the bunch of keys in her hand and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Thanks, man. For actually trusting us."

"You wouldn't call me if you're not serious. After all you can't stand me for good reasons." David shrugged.

"I... Maybe I've misjudged you."

"Oho! David you should mark today's date! Chloe Price just admitted that she did something wrong!" Max teased her girlfriend while pricking the bigger girl with one of her fingers.

"Ah! Hey, you little..." But than she stopped whatever she wanted to say or do. Her gaze went back to her stepfather as she asked, "What do you think of me and Max?"

"You ask if about _my_ opinion on homosexuals?"

"... Well, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, right?"

David chuckled on that. "Okay, that may be true."

"Yea, I don't really want to offend you, but you seem somewhat patriotic and... well there are a lot of patriotic Nazis out there."

"Like I said, I love my country, and everyone in it. And as far as I know the 4% of the LGBT community counts as part of the population."

That answer let both girls calm down some more, and with a smile playing over her face Chloe retorted, "Nice save."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^ 
> 
> I don't claim to know how it is in a war zone, never have been in one and am thankful for that, so everything said here should be taken with that in mind :p 
> 
> That aside, this chapter was a bit longer, because I wanted the David-talk in one chapter. 
> 
> Next up: The inside job!


	27. Office

"Shht!" Chloe hissed at her partner in crime, while the two went through the main entrance of the school building.

"I am trying!" The freckled girl whispered back as she stuck out her tongue.

Both how them decided to break into the school the same night they got the keys from David. This time _time_ wasn't on their side after all.

 _Or was it ever?_ Max questioned herself.

The freckled girl was at least glad that the blue haired girl was way more careful than the last times. No joking, no goofing and no scary punk ghost. That just made it clear for Max how serious the situation really was for the two of them. This was her third time she went into the school. And the first time something really was at stake. She wished this was just one of their dates, but they would probably not have any room to enjoy themselves.

Chloe on the other hand was actually paying attention to how close she was to her girlfriend, because now she kind of knew that the brunette didn't like being alone in the darkness.

 _After everything that happened to her this is more than understandable though_. The punk said to herself. _She was alone with that bastard for god knows how long. Too long! That she's standing here right now with me without any bigger anxiety attack or shit like that just shows how strong Max truly is._

The blue haired girl was kind of right, being next to Chloe was helping a lot with Max's fear of the dark. She hadn't even thought about it when they were standing at the docks with David just an hour ago either.

 _There was a big lamp emitting light though... But now I can't even see my own hands before my eyes_. The freckled girl thought while still feeling somewhat giddy.

They sneaked through the corridor after Chloe had opened the doors, while passing on using too much light, so that the chance of them being caught was minimal, after all both of them knew where they needed to go even without the shining of their smartphones.

The punk took the bunch of keys out of her pocket and opened the faculty lounge. Both of them quickly hushed inside and closed the door behind them quietly.

"We're in!" The bigger girl whispered excited as she rubbed her hands like she was planning something evil.

"Yea, let's not waste any time and get in the office." Max said as she pointed at the wooden door. "Speak friend and enter."

The blue haired girl let out an amused huff as she lowered herself to see the lock better. "Nerd."

With a click the door swung open and the two of them entered without any further ado. Both Max and Chloe brought their smartphones out and used them as flashlights.

"Wow, this guy really has no taste in art, does he?" Chloe said as she inspected the pictures hanging on the wall. Then her eyes wandered to Wells's desk. "I'm gonna pilfer the papers on this ugly ass desk." She moved towards the big armchair and let herself fall in it. "Okay, sure, it's ugly but damn is it a cozy chair!"

"Mega-deja vu right now." The brunette said more to herself than her partner.

"Bet I said something about this freaky eagle statue too, right?" The sitting girl asked with a small smile on her lips while pointing at said statue with her chin.

The freckled girl rose one of her eyebrows. "I seriously don't know if that was narcissistic of you, knowing that you actually did say something about it."

"What can I say? I just try to love everything you love." Chloe quipped back while she started working o the computer. At the same time Max started going through all those documents for the second time in her life. "By the way, don't you already know where to look?"

"I know that he had some interesting e-mails last time, but so much has changed since... _then_ , so that I should make sure and look around some more."

Chloe nodded approvingly. "Sounds good. Let's just hope he didn't delete any of that shit."

And so the searching began. The hippie found a lot of things again, just slightly changed. Kate's records for example wasn't mentioning anything about her instability.

_Figures, she never was forced to do something so horrible here..._

There was also a note written in her own files, stating that she did some brave work for all people in Arcadia Bay.

_Yay, so that no one'll ever forget that all of this shit ever happened._ _Geez, can't we just be left alone already?_

But what surprised the freckled girl even more was Nathan's file. Even now after everything had come to light about him dossing Rachel, Kate, and probably a few other girls, and on top of that helping Mark Jefferson with his fucked up idea of art, his file was clean. If she would've seen this under different circumstances the small brunette would have blown up in rage, but right now this confirmed that something was off. That Sean Prescott was still having pressure on principal Wells's!

 _That's it! Well, not really. Doesn't proof anything yet, but there gotta be more!_ The piece of paper pumped her up and with newfound motivation she continued to search everywhere. She went through most of the shelves and found a few more files of people she knew, letters and some notes, probably from Wells himself, but nothing that would help them in any way.

_There gotta be something. Nathan wouldn't have such spotless school-records otherwise!_

"Bingo!" Chloe said while finding something in the right timing because Max had just then already finished most of the paper work already.

"Found something?"

"Not directly but look at this mail he got from daddy Prescott!" Chloe showed her girlfriend the same e-mail like last time. Some threats hidden behind a formal message.

 _This reeks like hell, but could we really use something like that?_ The freckled girl slowly started to question if there really was something useful here.

"Can you print it somehow? Maybe i-it will be of use."

"Uhm, yea, sure. I think the printer was in the teachers' lounge." The blue haired girl moved her fingers over the keyboard and they could hear the bzzz of a printer starting to work.

"Shit, that's kinda loud, isn't it?" Max said as she started fiddling with her fingers. Chloe could see that she was getting more and more nervous by the minute. "Chill, show me your gladiator spirit, Maximus. And also, we've been hella much louder the last time we broke into school, no way in hell the guards are gonna come running because of one beeping sound."

"Y-yea... right." The smaller girl tried to calm down.

But the truth was that the punk could feel the pressure as well. So far, they had found nothing that was of use for them.

 _Don't panic now, big girl._ She reminded herself. _First of all, you're here for Max. If you panic she'll too, and we don't want that, do we?_ To prevent that from happening, and to hide those anxious feelings from her girlfriend she stood up, and embraced the smaller girl.

"C-Chloe?"

"Hush now. Everything is gonna be fine, okay?"

"Y-Yes, didn't you just tell me-"

"I can see it in your eyes, you're still scared, aren't ya?"

Instead of getting a verbal answer, the punk could feel of two hands grabbed her back tightly.

"No more worries for now, promise?"

"... Uh-huh."

Letting go of each other, the two girls continued with their search. Max was now pretty much finished with all those shelves, and started going through the one behind the desk. First the saves. Nothing. Then the one right next to the saves. But yet again, she found _nothing_. She gulped her lump of fear, that was stuck in her throat, down, and turned around to see how the bigger girl was doing.

Chloe had by now already given up on finding anything on the computer. There were just things they either already knew, or that just didn't help to provide anything against Nathan's father. As she browsed through the databases she then found a picture that was supposedly drawn by Nathan himself. For a moment it just looked like one of his fucked up psycho-things he would do, but then she saw the writings in it. **Rachel in the dark room. Rachel in the dark room. Rachel in the dark room.**

She quickly closed the window after realizing what that picture was, and turned the computer out. "There was nothing on it. Just the thing about Nathan's daddy blackmailing Wells." And then she moved her attention to all desk itself. She started trawling ever drawer the wooden desk had, until she found an envelop that looked rather suspicious.

"Hey, Max, you know what that is?" She asked as she waggled it in front of the freckled girl.

"The money! I totally forgot about that! It's supposed to be some funding to support handicaps in Blackwell."

"Yea, sure. So, we gonna take it, or what?"

"Chloe..."

"... To give it to the police, of course! Geez... Just to be sure, how much exactly is in there?"

"Chloe!" Max scolded her girlfriend as she attempted to peek inside the package.

"Sorry!... On another note do you really think that this is gonna help us?"

"We have to try at least. Even if we fuck over Wells carrier as well."

Chloe shrugged on that. "I don't give a frog's fat ass about him to be honest. He's a dog of the Prescotts, and also, he did nothing despite all that weird shit going down at his school. He kind of deserves it." Right as the words left the punk's mouth Max was reminded of the time when she tried to explain to him that Nathan had a gun with him. Wells didn't care in the slightest, didn't even check what she was saying was true despite it being such a serious accusation. Instead he blamed her for it, saying that she was a liar! And the worst was that he knew exactly how fucked Nathan's head was.

_Chloe is right. If he goes down with Sean Prescott together, then so be it!_

"Okay. But I just hope that the money wasn't supposed to be genuinely used for the school."

"Oh, please, like he would actually do that. We'll just send all of that shit anonymously anyways, so that if it turns out to be planed for reals, nobody'll know that we were the ones who stole it. No big deal."

"I just..." The punk could see that something was bothering her girlfriend again, but before she could speak her concern Max continued, "Was that everything? There's nothing else in the desk?"

"Yep, but we still got some more shelves to go through, right?" The punk answered the question way to enthusiastically. She was still worried that the freckled girl could have an anxiety attack coming sooner or later, so with a faked smile she pointed at the shelves next to them. "There'll be something for sure!"

But there was nothing. They were empty. Not _empty_ empty, but nothing of use for the partners in crime.

And so their hunt for evidence was over after about half an hour. They had a half-threat and a big bundle of money, that was _maybe_ used to blackmail the Principal.

"... Chlo, this can't be everything." The brunette shook her head, feeling that panic was about to boil up inside of her yet again. "We... What... Do I... They'll send me away from y-you..."

 _Fucking shit_. Of course Chloe had realized as well that they didn't find what they had hoped for, but right now she needed to stay strong. "Let's not flip out just yet, Max."

"Y-you keep telling me that, but how long do we need to wait? What do we have to find? Is there really _anything_ we can do?" Her voice was getting louder now. "I can't keep chilling, while we find nothing here! Or do you have a plan B, you didn't tell me of?" But it took Max just a glimpse of Chloe's tortured expression to know the answer. "Course you don't! There is no way out!"

"Simmer down, Caulfield! You can control the fucking causality itself, so are you really scared that something like that'll tear us apart?"

"... Yes..." Max mumbled. If she wouldn't be a tensed up as she was, Chloe would've loved to kiss her girlfriend for such a sappy answer. But then she saw tears rolling down Max's face. "All that struggling will have been for nothing... God, how do I explain all of that if Joyce does loose her job because of me?!" The smaller girl was now visibly out of breath.

"Max, hey Maxibaby!" The blue haired girl whispered with a soothing voice, while caressing the wet cheeks with her hand. "Nothing, and I mean nothing, will take you away from me, you hear me? I can't promise you money, or happiness, I'll always be right next to you as long as you want me, babe."

The shaking girl fell into Chloe's arms and sobbed, "I never wanted anything else, Chlo!" in the punk's leather jacket.

"Shhh. I know that already, you dummy. It's okay now... B-But let's bail. This ain't... the right place to have a b-breakdown." Chloe was holding tears back herself just barley. On one side she was obviously deeply touched by her girlfriend, but she was also feeling the same concern she did. Getting Max on another school was one thing, but her mother loosing her job could have heavy consequences for her family.

"Y-you're right... Seems like I d-don't have the best timing when I choose to have a crying fit..." The smaller girl tried to crack something like a joke. In return the blue haired girl let out a not really genuine huff, but Max still welcomed the gesture. "L-Let's get outta here."

* * *

They crashed at Chloe's, not really knowing where else to go. David and Joyce were both already fast asleep, it was around twelve o'clock and both of them had to work tomorrow after all.

The two girls quietly sneaked into the punk's room, and without having any kind of real conversation they let themselves fall on the big bed. The day had been more than just exhausting. They tossed most of their clothes to the sides, and snuggled together under a blanket. After a bit of back and forth they quietly settled for Chloe being the bigger spoon. She was holding the smaller girl firm, and whenever she felt a shiver going through her girlfriend, the punk would start to gently kiss Max's neck.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a fucking burden..." Max whispered at some point in the night.

"Max, you know that's not true..."

But after those few words were spoken the couple fell back in silence. There was just a pure and disturbing form of disappointment in both of them.

While Chloe at some point managed to fall asleep the brunette couldn't. She just couldn't. She was to scared of what would be waiting in the darkness behind her eyelids. She had always been a rather intense dreamer, and especially after all of this weird shit with her powers went down, it intensified even more. When she was dreaming, they felt real, just as real as Chloe's warm hug was right now... This would be a long night for Maxine Caulfield.

* * *

The next morning was just as bad. At some point the freckled girl had fallen asleep, and just as she assumed, she was now having a nightmare of being separated from her girlfriend by an omnipotent force. But as soon as Chloe woke her up she thankfully couldn't remember what had happened in the dream. As she opened her eyes the small girl found herself in a room, soaked in a red color thanks to the flag hanging before the window, and the first thing that her eyes locked on was the blue haired girl.

"G'morning, ya little trippy hippy."

"H-Hey..." The smaller girl glimpsed at her handy and saw that it was already past ten.

 _Geez, did I really sleep so long? That means no school today. Not that it matters, Sean Prescott'll have me expelled in a few days anyways..._ She was getting gloomy from the things swirling in her mind already.

Suddenly the girl next to Max gave her a nudge. "It's a new day, Max! Let's not be down until anything really happened, okay?"

"Chloe.. I..."

"Nope. You won't try to explain anything to me. You'll get ready, and then we're gonna have a big _munch-breakfast_ in Two Whales. That's an order from the captain!"

"I don't think I can get anything down right now."

"You know the drill by now, Caulfield. If you don't do it, I will force it down your throat." And upon getting nothing but a sigh back as an answer from Max, she added, "I won't let you fall back into old habits, just because of one not so profitable raid."

"I know that you mean good, Che... I just..."

"Yea, I gotcha, I really do, but instead of sobbing or eyes sore, which Sean Prescott is probably hoping for anyways, we could eat a tasty egg with some bacon, y'know?"

To Chloe's relief the freckled girl snorted upon hearing that. "You really are the master of downplaying. I just hope you're right, and that the money plus the e-mail really are enough to help with the investigation against the Prescotts."

"It will be." The blue haired girl tried to sound as convincing as possible, even if she herself wasn't believing everything that came out of her mouth.

 _But I don't mind swallowing my own insecurity if it means that Maxipad will feel better._ The punk told herself.

"Let's first make an envelope for the money and the e-mail you printed out, so that we can just drop it next to the police station, okay?" Max asked as she put on the clothes she wore yesterday.

"Sure. The faster the better, I feel ya. Just gonna get some paper and we can get started." The punk forced herself in her jeans and quickly left the room. Only now Max truly realized that up until now the two of them had been in lying next to each other in underwear. Why was it that whenever the two of them had an intimate moment, they couldn't really indulge it, because of so much frustration and drama...

Being alone in the room for a few moments, the freckled girl tried to wrap her mind around everything that could happen in the next few hours.

 _Okay. Chloe is right, nothing bad has happened yet, and who knows maybe the police really did find something incriminating. Maybe they didn't need our help in the first place... Maybe... Maybe I just think that I'm some kind of protagonist in a twisted story. Just because of those fucking powers... And I can't even truly despise them, because without them I wouldn't have been able to save my Che..._ Max sat herself, still pondering, on the edge of the big bed and just a few moments later the punk returned.

"I don't, uhm, like the look on your face. You thinking too much again?" Was the first thing the blue haired girl said as soon as she saw her girlfriend sitting like that on her bed.

"I guess so... You were right after all. Old habits die hard."

"Staring Bruce Willis." Chloe agreed with a nod.

"Dork."

"Aww, someone's mad again..." The bigger girl teased as she took a few steps to close the gap between them. She then let herself slowly fall on the smaller girl. Lying on Max, she had her face just a few inches above her freckled girlfriend's.

"H-Hey! You're heavy!"

"Haahh? Ouch! That hurt, Caulfield!"

"Then get off-" But whatever she wanted to quip back was interrupted by a pair of lips pressing against her own.

As she pulled back the blue haired punk had an impish grin on her face. "Never gonna happen."

"Oh, geez, just..." For a moment Max's blue eyes evaded Chloe's pale face, but than the two blue pairs found, and locked on to each other. The punk could feel how how two sneaky hands crawled up her back and then rested in her neck, where they started pulling her back down. "Just kiss me again, will you?"


	28. Not quite over

They were sitting in the truck. "Let's go to Two Whales. Let's eat something good to cheer up." Was how Chloe had phrased it, but what Max really heard was, "I would rather see you eat waffles than watch while you nibble on your confidence."

"Y-Yea... You're probably right. Waffles always did help me cheer up." Or so Max hoped at least. She just couldn't help feeling down at the moment. They didn't find anything useful at Wells's office, just an e-mail which was like a pseudo-threat, and a bundle of money, that was supposed to be used for students with handicaps. Maybe the e-mail was a piece of evidence. Maybe the money was used to blackmail the principal. Maybe there were to many _maybes_ in her current situation again.

_If I really get thrown out of Blackwell because of Sean Prescott, I'll need to go back to Seattle... Seattle is far away from Chloe. Now, finally after I went through all of that to get to her, to the happy-end-timeline, she just gets pulled away again? It's like everyone is happy and has a perfect life in this reality, just not me. I get constantly fucked over by the universe for no apparent reason._

The sadness was slowly transforming to anger. The freckled girl still had no clue about her powers, and if she even still had them. The lack of knowledge on why and how she got her powers was still bugging her. But right now she didn't have time to think about that, did she?

"So? What're we going to do now?"

"Huh?" For a moment Chloe's question caught her off guard. Her head turned so that she could face the driving girl. "We're going to Two Whales, aren't we?"

"Well, yes, but I mean, uhm, what comes next? No ninja mission, no dangerous barging with a drug dealer, no _anything exciting_?"

"I think I've had enough exciting for the next few hundred years."

"Fair enough."

"And anyhow, we don't know what happens next regarding the Prescott investigation. I just don't get why you're so chill about all of this mess."

"I guess because I'm with you." Chloe shrugged like the answer was patently obvious.

But the brunette still didn't get it. She was so torn exactly for that reason after all. Because they were together. Because they needed each other. Because something was threatening their 'being together'. But then she remembered something Chloe said after Max had panicked about meeting Frank, and the whole situation itself.

_"Getting lost in decisions of the past and the consequences of the future. You tend to forget that the most crucial part is the present, Max Caulfield."_

Maybe the punk had been right. Maybe the present matters the most, because the only time we can change, without any super powers, _is_ the present. And maybe that is all it takes. Or so the freckled girl concluded at least.

 _We are together right now, and not even Sean Prescott can change that!_ Having that in mind the brunette slowly calmed down. "Chloe?..."

"Yes, Maxaroni? No making out while I have a wheel in my hands, sorry."

"What? I just, uhm... God damn it..." The freckled girl needed a moment before she found her train of thoughts again. Kissing Chloe was a distracting image in her head after all. "You... You won't leave me, right?"

"You really think I will? Because of some way to wealthy prick?" For a moment the punk's eyes jumped between Max and the road.

"... No, I don't."

"But you're scared?"

"Fucking terrified."

A snarky smile played over Chloe's lips. "Like always?"

"Oh, shut up, it's not like I want to be like that."

"Maybe that's the problem though."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, just accept who you are. Like we said yesterday, let's stop with all that self-pity all the time."

By now the truck had already reached the street in which the diner was standing. For a moment pictures of a burning Two Whales popped up in Max's head, but she quickly let go of those, knowing that this catastrophe was prevented at least. "Hmm... Yea, I guess you're right..." The hippie said while letting out a huff. It was harder to admit than Max thought, but the blue haired girl had a point.

"When am I not?... Okay, here we are. Just... gotta..." The punk started looking for a free parking place while slightly bending over the wheel, like it would help her with the search.

* * *

The usual breakfast, with the usual suspects. After they delivered the package, with everything they got of Wells's office, to the police, they headed towards the diner. Chloe was proud of them because they delivered it 'all ninja like' as she phrased it, but actually they just hid behind a car while staring through a windowed door how a police-woman found it.

Now sitting in Two Whales they both had a meal lying on a plate before them. Belgian waffles for Max and eggs plus bacon for Chloe.

Even if she didn't feel particularly hungry, she still loved the smell of the diner. It smelled like nostalgia and tasty food. The hippie took her time to savor this atmosphere. Her eyes wandered behind her girlfriend, as she checked out what was going on in the diner right now. To her surprise Two Whales was rather empty right now. Just some truckers and a police officer were in the diner besides them.

_I just hope that the officer doesn't ask me why I'm not in school right now..._

But it seemed like he was only paying attention to his bagel filled with ham.

_I should probably follow his example and start eating my waffles as well._

And that's what she did. Slowly fork for fork the food on her plate decreased, and the more it vanished the happier Chloe looked. What Max didn't notice was that the punk wasn't eating much either. Her fingers clenched around the fork, and forced it to bring the food to her mouth. Chloe gave her best to not panic, after all it was her mother's financial existence that was at stake. If Sean Prescott didn't have any repercussion after the police investigation, and Max didn't sign the verification to help his family, Joyce would probably loose her job. But the only thing the blue haired girl could do right now was making her girlfriend laugh and forget all the stress the two were in.

After about five minutes of eating in silence the blue haired girl then said. "Y'know, at first I really thought that Mom wanted me to pay for the meals, but at when the bill started getting ridiculously big, I kind of guessed that she was just doing her mother-thing."

"Uh-huh. You guessed it... Even if you would be right, you probably should still pay her. It would make her happy, you know?"

"Yes, yes... Miss social justice." A small smile appeared on Max's face as she received the sassy answer.

"Social justice? Because paying your bills is such a abstract thing to do, right?"

The punk pointed with her fork at the girl sitting in front of her. "Exactly. Finally someone who gets me! I know why I choose to you to be my partner in crime."

"You're a dork, you know that, Che?"

"And you're so socially correct that I should start calling you Karl Max."

The brunette snorted upon hearing that, while nearly spilling out some of her coffee. "Yeah, right. Because it's the evil system fault. It forces you to work for food. Why don't the rich just buy robot Gordon Ramsay for ever human being?"

"My god... That's actually a brilliant idea, Max. Just imagine it. Everyday you wake up to your favorite food. For free. But one should be careful that they don't have any kind of weapons, or we end up in some I-Robot shit."

"On a different note, Chloe, what do you think of David? His story was pretty heavy, wasn't it?"

"Yea... Shit. I can kind of understand where he's coming from, but why did he never tell me? I would've understood, after all I know what it means to loose someone dear to you just as much as he does..." For a moment her gaze moved out of the window next to them, and into the distance. Max wasn't so sure if it was because of William or... Rachel. The freckled girl could feel how a feeling of jealousy came up once more, upon imagining that Chloe's sadness was because of Rachel, but quickly tried to shake those egocentric thoughts out of her head.

Not wanting to leave the conversation on such a sour note, Max then tried to cheer her girlfriend up with some of her own medicine. "C'mon, don't tell me the always-so-cocky-Chloe gets embarrassed by some water in her eyes."

"Course' I don't! My eyes were just sweating!"

"Uh-huh."

The two girls bantered for some more time. Both of them were actually very relaxed for the while being. Just some joking, teasing and occasionally flirting. Just having some good time in general. But of course this nice atmosphere wouldn't last forever. At some point reality caught back up. Max and Chloe were talking about how good McConaughey and Leto acted in ' _Dallas Buyers club'_ when the freckled girl spotted something out of the corner of her eyes. Joyce was talking with a customer. Actually she was laughing. She had fun at her job. Then just seconds later a crushing thought popped into Max's head.

_It'll be my fault when Sean Prescott ruins Two Whales. Even now the Prices don't swim in money, but when she looses her job... They won't be able to keep on living in their house... In William's house... And... I'm... C-calm down. I really should snap out of it. But..._

Max let out an annoyed sigh, which surprised the punk. "What's bothering you, babe?"

"I just... I just need some fresh air I think." The freckled girl answered while standing up.

"Ha, I always said that when I actually sneaked out to smoke." Chloe retorted, while raising up from the bench as well. "Mind if I join?" She then asked with a surprisingly gentle and honest voice.

 _She's so sweet when she's worried about me... Still don't want to give her any reasons for it, though._ Max thought.

"Che, when did I ever?" The brunette's answer brought the usual smile back on Chloe's face.

"Let's bail then!"

Then they heard a "Going already?" Being yelled by Joyce over the counter. The punk explained that something urgent had come up and they didn't have time to pay, she then started pushing Max out of the diner. The brunette turned around one last time to wave goodbye to Chloe's mom, and saw how the waitress shook her head while having a smile over her lips.

Immediately after the two girls had stepped outside the blue haired girl started stretching herself. "Ahh, escaped the debts once more."

"You make it sound like a game."

"A game of life and debt." The punk agreed while lighting a cigarette. "Okay if I smoke a ciggy?"

"You mean your cancer sticks? Knock yourself out if you want."

The blue haired girl rolled with her eyes with a grin over her lips. "We can't all be so perfectly healthy, miss healthy-hippie. You have too much good mojo flowing out of you."

"You jealous, because your air is full of bad mojo?" Then suddenly something made click in Max head. She reminded a certain dialog she had with an homeless woman behind Two Whales.

 _She said something similar, didn't she? "Bad mojo is in the air this week. Thanks for the warning, Max."_ In some weird kind of way, Max had always felt reassured when talking to her. Somehow the old lady had gained her trust for no apparent reason. That's also why she did warn her from the storm while still being in the week that never was.

"H-Hey, listen, I told you about this weird homeless woman behind the diner, right?"

"Yeah, you mentioned her while talking about _that_ week, I think." The punk responded unsure about what her girlfriend was after. "Wanna go see her? I'm actually pretty curious to see her as well. I never noticed a woman behind the diner, which is strange considering how much I am here."

The brunette nodded. "Yea, let's check if she's there."

The two girls went around the newspaper rack and inside the alley, but instead of finding the lady, they just looked down on some paper and a blanket that were obviously used to lie on.

"Hmmm, maybe she just-" Chloe suddenly halted. A surprised Max then turned her head around so that she could see her girlfriend. "What's up, Che?"

Chloe's mouth was wide open and it seemed like her eyes starred into nothing. But that was not what disturbed Max. It was the silence. They were right next to one of the biggest streets of Arcadia, and yet there was nothing. No noise, nothing at all. She noticed all of those things in a few seconds of time but couldn't understand what was going on at first but then it started dawning on her.

It wasn't the punk who had stopped. It was _time._

Driving cars stood on the road. A pigeon hovered in the sky. A fisher had his mouth wide open as if he tried to yell something at his friend, but no voice was heard.

Max knew what this was. She had already been in a similar situation. The question was not _what_ was going on, but _why_. Why was she back in such a bizarre scenario that resembled the one in which Kate tried to jump off the roof of Blackwell? Her powers activated from alone this time though. She didn't use her powers this time, did she?

As if she needed to confirm it her eyes wandered down to her hand, and without understanding why, her right hand was there, hanging in the air as if it was reaching out to something. She didn't bring it up to activate her powers, did she? How could her body move without her noticing it at all.

Too overwhelmed by the whole situation the brunette dropped on her knees and for a few moments just starred at her hand in disbelieve.

_What... How... I-I didn't use them, but? I? Something I have to do?!_

The freckled girl concluded that there would be something she would probably need to influence again. The last time her powers stopped right after she reached the roof. The timing had been to perfect to be mere coincidence. No, since _that_ week Max had stopped believing in coincidences all together.

Her head darted to her left and back to her right. What was it? She couldn't make out where someone was in danger. No car crash, no explosion, nothing was dropping on anybody either. She just couldn't make out what triggered the time stop.

Right then a devestating thought ran through her head and her hackles rose up in fear. _W-Will I be stuck in time forever? Did... Did I finally break time itself? I just fucked up... I just fucked up, didn't I? Fuck. Fuck._ "Fuck!"

She could feel something wet run down her face. _Stop crying already._ She commanded used her sleeve to wish away the drops of what she thought was a tear-drop, but when she looked down on her sleeve, a trace of red was all over the fabric.

 _Ughh..._ She started feeling dizzy, but wasn't sure if the panic was the only reason behind it. _Fucking shit! I'm even bleeding again? W-What the hell is going on? "_ Just tell me what the fuck you want from me!" She then screamed into the sky, more out of frustration than anything else.

Max could feel how her heartbeat started hammering against her chest. Also her breathing was getting shorter and shorter. She would have a panic attack once again. Could this happen every time from now on? Just some time cracks that could stop time and god knows what else? Maybe she would also be ported in some fucked up timeline? Maybe back... into the Dark Room? But instead of succumbing to the madness she was in right now, she violently shook her head to snap out of it. This was not the time to thing about the future. Right now the present was the most important. At least that she had learned from her girlfriend.

 _T-This won't help! Think, girl, think!_ _Maybe I just have to use rewind once more?_ But the attempt left her with nothing but the usual headache. "Shit!" she cursed while sweeping over her face with her hands once more, so that the water in her eyes wouldn't blur her vision anymore.

She slung her arms around herself, and if she would've been fully conscious, Max would've felt the pain of her own fingers stinging deep into her own flesh. But she didn't. The only thing her brain had time for right now was to the attempt of not shutting down entirely.

 _What am I supposed to do? What can I even do?!... I... If this starts from anew, does that mean... She let out a sobbing_ "God, please no..."

Chloe would need to die again.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down." The freckled girl repeated over and over again, while swinging back and forth with her upper body.

 _This has to be one of my nightmares. Yes! Just a dream. I'm lying next to Che. Everything is fine... Everything is..._ "Just so fucking unfair!" in a sudden gust of blinding rage, Max stood up, and kicked the blanket of the homeless woman away. The blanket flew against one of the garbage can and made a weird sound, and only after she heard that metallic clinking she started paying attention at what she had kicked just now.

It was just a blanket. But what created this metallic sound then? The brunette went on her knees yet again and started checking the blanket once more, and while being at it she did the same with the ground around her. Then something caught her eyes just a few inches away from her. _A... key?_

Max picked it up to see it better, and held it right in front of her eyes so that she could-

"-went somewhere else.- JESUS MAX!?" With big eyes she stared at her girlfriend, who nearly soiled herself because Chloe startled her so much. "H-How did you... You were just standing right next to..." But she stopped speaking as soon as she saw how shattered Max was at the moment.

"I-I... Chloe... It's..." The small girl could feel how her knees were giving in once more, but this time the punk was there to catch her before she could hit the ground. The freckled girl could feel the warmth of her girlfriend wrap around her, holding her, saving her, from the fall into madness. She was save now... _For_ now. But she didn't care. She only cared about clinging onto the punk.

"Max?..." The blue haired asked everything of importance, with just a single whispered name.

"It... happened again... Chloe..." Were the last words the freckled girl let out of her mouth before falling into unconsciousness.

"Max? _Max_!" Chloe yelled at the girl in her arms. She tried to shake her, tried to say her name and even considered giving her a kiss to wake her up, but everything proved to be useless.

After giving up on waking up her girlfriend, the punk just stood there for a few moments, while holding the small girl. She was shaking, and of course extremely worried about Max. But there was also something else on her mind. Something that send a shiver down to her very core.

_It was true... N-not like I doubted her, she had more then plenty chances to prove it but... shit, it's really true! All that fucked shit is true. Jefferson, the storm, me dying over and over again... All of it..._

While still shaking, she decided to bring her girlfriend to her truck, so they wouldn't have to stand in a stinky alley for the rest of the day.

_Let's just hope no one sees me carrying a unconscious girl around..._

And thanks to some twisted luck the blue haired girl managed to carry her girlfriend over the path behind the diner, and into the truck without anyone seemingly seeing the two. Inside the car Chloe tried to arrange Max's body so that she would have it comfortable. Most of her body was lying on the bench and her brown haired head was resting on Chloe's lap now. For a good minute the punk then just stared into the air. It felt like her brain got fried by what just happened.

 _She fucking teleported..._ She still couldn't say if it was something awesome or terrifying.

"Okay, okay... What to do... What to do... First the nose-bleeding, right." She needed a few attempts before she managed to open her glove box, thanks to her body having lost all of it's strength, and brought out a hankie. Then the punk started to slowly and gently clean her girlfriend's face. Thanks to Max's journal Chloe knew that this was neither the first time she had a nose-bleed nor the first time she fell unconscious because of her powers. In due time she would be up and kicking again... Right?

Without contemplating any further about such a dark idea, she petted Max's head while saying out loud, "Now...Let's... Let's get the fuck outta here."

But where should she drive Max? The hospital? No. This time there would be no way in hell to explain what just happened. Chloe then decided that she needed to find some place just for the two of them. I didn't took long before she decided to drive to their old hideout, the little somewhat rotten cabin in the woods, they once visited before. _Nice and isolated._ There was no need for anybody to ask questions right now. After all not even Chloe really understood what was going on right now, but she knew that she would've time to panic _later_. Right now she needed to help the girl resting on her lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^ 
> 
> I really struggled with this one... Also had/have a lot of things to do right now, so sorry for the delay! :S 
> 
> On another note I was really not sure ( still am not to be exact) how some of you'll feel about me bringing back Max powers, or at least something supernatural.... I never really axed them out or anything, and also gave some foreshadowing here and there, but still... Maybe some won't like that development, and I'm sorry if so :P


	29. Balloons pops

"Urgh.. W-Where?..." Upon opening her eyes, the first thing Max saw was a wooden ceiling. She then felt a weird shift under her head.

"Hush for now, Maximouse. Everything's fine. I'm right here." Chloe's soft voice was right above her.

"Chlo..." The freckled girl could feel a warm hand being entangled with her own. She then also realized that she had slept on the punk's thighs.

 _And damn are they comfy._ She didn't feel at all like standing up, and the weakness in her muscles wasn't the only reason for that. She decided to close her eyes for just a few more moments.

After, what could've been either a few minutes or even some hours, she woke up once more, opened her eyelids, and the first thing she saw this time was a blue haired girl who had a gentle, yet nervous expression on her face. The brunette saw that her girlfriend was worrying about... Well, probably everything.

"Where... are we?"

The moment the freckled girl raised her voice, Chloe tried hiding the fact that she was feeling irritated, with a smile and a happy-go-lucky undertone in her voice. "In our old cabin. Got a blanket out of the truck and laid you down here, right after..." She explained while fiddling with the blanket laying over Max.

"Yea... I..."

"It's fine, M-Max. As far as I know nobody died yet... and I still love you." Hearing that comforted the freckled girl immensely.

She then whispered a "Love you, too..." back

"Kust doze some more, little nerd."

"... But..."

"We'll need a clear head for what is to come, Max."

"... But what about..."

"About what?"

"What about _you_ , Chloe?"

"Me?"

"Y-Yea... Since we failed in our heist, you started bottling up everything."

"I... Well... Yes, you're right. But let me first check if you're really okay."

Max made a denying wave with her hand. "I think I'm alright. Does my nose still bleed?"

"N-No... I cleaned it."

"Oh. Thanks..." Knowing that this would not be the best time for cuddling, Max raised her head to face a worried Chloe. She didn't let go of her hand though.

"Soooo, let me tackle the big question. Why did you use your powers?... Do you come from another timeline? Did something terrible happen again? I just... Just tell me that you're alright, please babe..." The more she asked the more her voice started breaking. The punk let go of her hand now and stood up.

While it touched the freckled girl to see her girlfriend being worried like that, she also wanted to cheer her up somehow. "Actually... that was more than one question."

"Oh for fuck sake. Sassiness? Now? Really, Caulfield?"

"Sorry... I just... I would love this all to be a joke. You see, I actually didn't use my powers deliberately."

"You didn't?"

"It just happened..." Max raised her shoulders and dropped them again.

"Hah, that sounds like a familiar excuse someone in this room used way too much for the last few years."

"Just that it isn't one! I swear to dog, I didn't use them! My hand was doing _the thing_ , before I even knew it!"

"Chill, I believe you. Hell, I don't have any other choice but believing you, else I would go mad."

"More than you are, already."

A small smile appeared on the punk's lips upon hearing that. "You snarky little... With all that joking around, it seems like you're okay, Max. But you know more about this shit than I do, so is there anything we should do now?"

"I wish I knew anything about this... You know, normally I only could rewind time, not stop it."

"I think 'normally' is the wrong word here, but yea, when the only time was when... Kate tried to... Ya know." Chloe didn't want to say it out loud in fear it could hurt her girlfriend. But even just the image in her head was enough for Max to make a pained grimace.

"Yea... I really can't explain it, but it seems like it has some kind of trigger. Something I have to do before time starts moving again. First it was 'getting on the roof' and this time it was 'find the key'. And before you even ask, I have no fucking idea what this key is for." She explained as she pulled said object out of her pocket.

"That's it? It's just a plain boring key, isn't it?"

"Don't ask me..."

"Hmm, okay. You still have headaches or anything?"

"Just feeling a bit weak."

"Well, I told you to sleep some more, offer still stands actually." Chloe said as she patted on her lap.

"Tempting. But seriously, you don't need to ask three times if I'm okay, when I tell you that everything's cool."

Instead of giving an answer the blue haired girl just stared at her, with a neutral and yet stern expression on her face. Her blue eyes were digging into Max's, and she almost felt like breaking eye-contact with her.

"You shouldn't be, that's why I ask."

"I shouldn't be okay? Thanks a lot."

"You know exactly what I meant. We got fucked in Wells's office, only got two more days before Presfuck wants your signature under his shitty paper and then you fucking lost control over your godlike powers. You _shouldn't_ be okay."

"Maybe I should stop crying over everything that happens. Ever thought of that?" Max answered with a unwanted bitchy undertone in her voice. "What do you want me to do? Buhh huhh, my life is so unfair. Ohh no, I just stopped time. Ohh no, I probably killed a few hundred yous. Crying helps nobody."

"... Well, it would help me for a change."

"If your girlfriend cries? What the heck do you want from me?"

"What I want from you?" The punk had enough of the bitching and now felt like talking back. Chloe's voice got louder. "You always want to stomach everything for yourself until you break!" And louder. "You know how that shit feels? You think I don't want to scream? To cry? To fucking blow something up?" And louder. "But if I would do that, it would hurt _you_ even more! I can't even vent without having to fear that you'll snap again!"

"As if I asked for that!" The smaller girl stood up as well, as she interrupted her girlfriend. "Did I ever say that I want you to hide your feelings from me? We agreed to be brutally honest with each other, didn't we?! If you can't handle that, that is not my fault!"

"Of course, just like always! Nobody was it, because everyone's innocent. You're acting like one of them now."

"Them? A normal fucking person?"

"Yes... A naive and egoistic normal person."

"Then here's some food for your thought. That's what I am. I'm no hero. No super-girl. Just a naive little girl. And so are you!" Max screamed at Chloe. After that both girls just glared at each other, while trying to get some air in.

A few moments later the punk could already feel how the her heated head slowly cooled down again, thanks to the blood leaving it. But instead of saying anything she turned around and stomped out of the cabin.

"C-Chloe!" Max cried, while trying to grab her girlfriend to stop her. But she was already out of reach, and the freckled girl was left alone in the wooden house.

For some time the brunette just sat there and thought about what just happened. Both of them just exploded, but was she really angry with Chloe? Were any of the words even really directed at her? _No. Of course not._ She just flipped, and then everything went downhill from there.

 _And before I knew it we were already screaming at each other... And then she left. I can't even blame her. I said some horrible things to her... Fuck..._ The freckled girl could feel how a single tear went down her face. _She has probably left with the truck already... I should try to get back home._

She slowly opened the door, expecting to find a bewildered forest, but then saw a blue haired punk standing in the, thanks to the autumn, brown woods, smoking what could've been her tenth cigarette already. Her whole body looked stressed, her foot was twitching on the ground, and her eyes were still full of tears. But the anger was gone. There was just a expression of regret left on her face. But despite all those twisted emotions the freckled girl was once again astonished by the beauty of her girlfriend. The yellow light of the sun was shining through the leafs and enlightened her blue hair. The black colors of her jacket gave a somewhat fitting contrast to the rest of their surrounding.

Max wanted to take the shoot, but the moment her hand moved towards the camera, she halted. What if Chloe would be offended? But before she could do anything Chloe said, "Took you long enough to chase after me." At first Max thought that the punk was still bitter, but then she saw the saddened smile on her face.

"Chloe... I..."

"Yea, I know..." Of course she did. Chloe had probably thought about their little fight just as much as she had. "And before you get any ideas, yes, I'm sorry as well."

"Just... to make things clear... I don't think you're naive or egoistic at all!"

"Me neither. You saved my life over and over again, how can you be egoistic at all?"

"Chloe, it's fine. And honestly? I think I can be selfish sometimes."

"Babe, I love you more than anything else in this world. I honestly don't even know why I said such stupid things to you."

"Because you were angry?"

"Y-Yeah... Probably. But not at you, though. Just... at... everything else pretty much. But not you!" The punk pointed out once more, while scratching the hair under her beanie. After a short moment of silence she then asked, "Hug?"

"Hella hug!" The smaller girl retorted as she nearly jumped at the punk girl's throat. She then planted her lips on Chloe's and gave her a long kiss.

After a few seconds, their lips departed. Now their faces were just for a few inches from each other and Max locked her blue eyes with Chloe's and said, "I'm sorry." Once more.

"Me too."

And then both of them couldn't help but have a stupid grin all over their faces, which only vanished for a moment, because they gave each other one more peck.

"How could I even say anything bad to you? You're everything I have..." The bigger girl said, as she shook her head at her own stupidity.

"You always get so sappy once we make up, don't you?"

"Ahh, shut up, nerd. But seriously, all of that wasn't direct at you at all Max, I'm just-"

"Chloe,-" The hippie girl interrupted the punk, "- I know that, you dork!"

"G-Good..." Was the only thing the flustered punk was able to get out, while fiddling with the brown hair of her girlfriend.

Seeing the bigger girl so insecure was a rare sight, even for Max. Yet she didn't dislike that side of her girlfriend at all. Instead of talking any further, the brunette moved in, opened the jacket, the punk was wearing, and snuggled into the bigger girl's body. Her arms crawled behind Chloe, and the punk in return pulled her leather jacket behind the smaller girl, like a flytrap.

_If I ever asked myself why flies are so stupid and get caught by plants, now I have the answer. The seduction is too strong!_

Now entangled like they were, Max laid her chin on Chloe's chest, as she looked up to face her girlfriend. "You caught me, Chlo."

"I caught you, Max..." There was a sweet and honest moment between the two girls, but right then Chloe added "Like in, 'I'll always be there to catch you if you fall'. That kind of caught."

The brunette dropped her face in the punk's chest, as she groaned. "Oh man, you really love to destroy those moments, don't you?"

"Ohh, just what could you be meaning, my little jumper?"

"You really are a Venus flytrap, I can already feel how I get weaker inside of your grasp."

"Hah! That's your knees getting weak, because you're hugging your beautiful girlfriend!"

"... Naa, I think it's because I can't take the goofiness."

"Embrace it Max. Like I embraced you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well. You're my goof? Okay, that sounds weird, let's just stop and kiss, okay?"

The freckled girl rolled her blue eyes, but then obeyed. She went on her on tiptoes and gave the punk another kiss, but this time neither of them stopped.

On this rather cold Wednesday in October, two girls stood deep in the woods, next a moss-grown cabin, and warmed each other with a black leather jacket around them, and the warm breathe of each other. But neither of them noticed how strange it would be if someone could see them, they just cared for their partner. Chloe could feel the hunger... the yearning flow through Max tongue. She knew that the smaller girl needed some physical comfort right now. And so did she.

 _And instead of just petting the whole evening, I decide to explode into her face... What the fuck is wrong with me, sometimes..._ But before she could be angry with herself anymore, the punk suddenly felt a hand on her cheek. She opened her eyes and pulled her face back, just for a bit though. Right then she saw that Max had her eyes open as well and was looking worried again.

"Chloe?... why are you crying? I swear I am not angry or anything."

"Huh?" She touched her own face and realized that teardrops were running down from her eyes. "I-I... I just?..." But once the dam was broken it just wouldn't stop anymore. Tear after Tear dropped in Max brown hair, because she once again embraced the bigger girl to comfort her. A single sob came out of Chloe's mouth as she tried say that she didn't know what was going on. Just a few seconds later she was happy to be interrupted by the sob, because in truth she knew exactly where it was coming from.

"Everything just... I-It's just too much..." She started shaking, as she confessed what was really going on inside of her.

The smaller girl strengthened the grip around her girlfriend."Hush, Chloe. I caught you."

Under tears and sobs the blue haired girl actually let out a chuckle. "The fly catches the flytrap? What kind of twisted shit is this?"

"Well, this particular fly can rewind time, and fight causality itself. So it's not really that surprising, is it?"

The little chuckle now transformed into a wholehearted laughter. "You're such a nerd, my little jumper."

"Jumper? That's your new pet name?"

"... _Little_ jumper."

"Actually, it's not me who's small, but you who's too big!" She tried to defend herself.

"You need to eat more meat. Waffles stop the growing."

"Ahh, that's what it is. Thanks for the advice."

"That's what I'm here for. And crying."

"Ahh, c'mon Che. How many times were our roles reserved? Didn't you say it yourself? We're both messed up. Let me be the Ying to your Yang, just this once. And who knows, maybe tomorrow I will be the one needing comfort again."

The blue haired girl rubbed her eyes with one of her hands, and snuffled once more. "Okay. Tell me, how do I look? And don't forget, brutally honest, remember?."

"Uhm, pretty wasted, I guess? And your eyes are red as hell. If David saw you now he would probably think you're stoned again."

"What do you mean again? As if I would be stoned like all the time. Wish I was. Well, anyways, Let's get home, shall we?"

"Yeah... It was good seeing our hideout once more, even if we had a fight in it. I kind of miss the old days... Just you and me against the world."

"Hasn't changed much, Maxi-pad. Just that now _the world_ literally means the world."

* * *

The two girls drove home afterwards. Both of them felt how the weight, they were carrying on their shoulders, felt significantly lighter now. They still had all of the problems they had before, and they didn't have a solution for any of them either, but despite all of that they were happy. Not a set up happiness to distract themselves from everything bad in their life, but a genuine one. One that radiated the love for each other. Simply said, as long as they had each other, they just didn't care much what could might happen. At least for now.

They reached the Price household pretty fast, even if the roads were somewhat full, because it was quitting time by now.

As they stepped inside, the blue haired girl called her mother's name. "Joyce?"

But as nothing was yelled back, they concluded that Joyce would probably still be in the diner right now.

Max suddenly clapped in her hands and said. "I have a great idea!"

"Cuddling in my bed, while I force my tongue into your mouth?!"

"... Gross... Later... I thought maybe we could cook something?"

"What? Why?" Chloe didn't seem motivated. "Normally mom cooks..."

"But you should learn how too as well, shouldn't you?"

"Mehh, there is always the option of delivery service."

"Oh geez, I can already see that it'll be a pain in the ass when we move together..."

"But it'll be the nice kind of pain."

"The best." Max said while rolling her eyes.

"Sooo, us moving together? You've anything planned you didn't tell me yet? Not that I would mind."

"Well... I just... You know..." The freckled girl was now getting somewhat embarrassed. "I thought that someday we will end up in the same apartment... For certain reasons."

"I can totally see that happen. Might one of those reasons be that I'm your hella sexy girlfriend?"

"... I guess that plays a small role in it."

"Hah! You're totally blushing right now! C'mon, you've seen this piece of art already, haven't you?" She said, while pointing at herself.

Max could now feel how her ears were getting red, thanks to all of the blood rushing through it. "I-I..." But then she pulled all her courage together, "I wish I could again to be honest."

For a moment the punk didn't say anything. The only thing that really happened was that her otherwise pale suddenly adapted the same color Max face had right now. Then her mouth slowly opened, but stopped half-ways.

Chloe was still horrible at swallowing those blunt moments, her girlfriend had sometimes. "Uhm... I, ehh... D-Didn't we talk about that already? About... About taking our t-time?" But it was obvious that the punk had a strong desire for _it_ as well.

Maybe she would have even given in if Max would have pressured a bit more, but she didn't. Instead she said approvingly, "Yeah, I know. We want it to be genuine, no need for make up slash console third base action."

The blue haired girl couldn't believe what she just heard. In disbelieve and confusion she facepalmed herself. But right as she wanted to quip a sassy answer back the phone suddenly rang.

"Uhm, g-give me a second, just gonna answe that."

"Yea, keep running away, Price. Someday I get what I want."

As she grabbed the phone, Chloe thought _You damn brat stop making it so hard to be patient!_

"Yes? Price here."

"Ahh, hello!" A female, but unknown voice was on the other side of the phone. "I wanted to speak to Chloe? Chloe Price?"

"Y-Yes? That's me?"

"Well hello then, young lady. My name is Julien Gabriels. I'm the head nurse in Portland's mental hospital, I wanted to talk to you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's it for now guys
> 
> Got nothing really to say so I just wish all of you a good day today :D


	30. Pawns meet King

"Mental hospital? No offense mam but what do you want from me?" Hearing that Max started paying attention to their conversation as well. "People always say I'm crazy but..." stretched the last word, so that it was more of a question towards Julien Gabriels, the head nurse.

A short polite chuckle on the other side was heard, then the nurse started explaining herself. "Yes, you see I'm actually calling because one of our new patients has asked me. Does the name _Nathan Prescott_ mean anything to you?"

Her arm sank down loosely hung right next to her. For a moment Chloe was back in the boy's room, totally stoned from some rape-drug and just tried to survive whatever Nathan planned for her. She closed her eyes, took a deep breathe in and faced Max, who of course saw how unsettled the punk had become in just a few seconds.

"Chloe?"

Of course the freckled girl would ask what was going on, but the punk herself didn't even know how to answer.

 _Telling the truth for a change would be good, I guess?_ She said to herself, before answering, "It's a nurse from the mental hospital at Portland... She said she calls because of... because of fucking _Nathan_."

By now the two girls could hear some silenced sounds coming from the phone, but neither of them cared about the woman at all.

Upon hearing that the brunette needed to grab the counter-top in the kitchen to support her. "Wh...Wha?..." Her hearth started pounding like a jackhammer in her chest. Her breath was getting irregular and frantic, but before anything else could happen she could feel how an arm slung around her shoulders and pulled her in a hug.

"Max. We don't know what he wants."

"He knows Chloe. Somehow... Somewhere... _Somewhen,_ We made a mistake."

"Maximouse, I'm gonna pick up the phone again. I will hear what is going on. Afterwards we can talk about what we did or didn't do wrong, okay?"

"Y-yeah... Sure." The small girl agreed while not really letting go of her girlfriend.

The punk raised the receiver back to her ear. "Uhm, sorry miss Gabriels, just had to quickly do something."

"Oh, that's fine, I was wondering, is that Maxine Caulfield you just talked to? Mr Prescott talked a lot about you two."

"... He did... You know what he did to us, don't you?"

"Of course."

"So let's not beat around the bush, what does the fucker want from us?"

Chloe could hear that her cursing startled the all so formal woman. "H-He... My patient wishes to... Well... To talk to you two."

"... Talk?" Suddenly the blue haired girl got very quiet. With a voice that was rather hissing than speaking she explained, " He killed my best friend. I want to see that motherfucker dead. If I ever get the chance to come close to him I'm gonna wring his pathetic neck."

"Oh, uhm... That would be... not good, I guess?"

"Sorry for me being so blunt, I just wanted to bring my point across." Chloe clarified with a sharp undertone in her voice.

"That you did... And there's really no way to convince you to meet up, with him?"

By now Max also understood what the two woman were talking about, and was at first just as shocked as Chloe.

_But Chloe never saw the Nathan I saw... It may not justify anything, but he was always alone._

"Chloe?"

"Eh, excuse me for a moment miss Gabriels."

"Of course."

The brunette waited until Chloe covered the receiver with her hands before speaking up. "Maybe... We should at least talk to him."

" _What_?" The bigger sharply asked in disbelieve.

"Listen, he probably has a reason, otherwise he wouldn't ask at all. And especially not through a nurse."

"I don't like where this is going, Maxi."

"I know... Me neither. Can I speak to her?"

Chloe shrugged and gave her the phone. "Sorry, this is Max Caulfield here."

"Ah, good evening miss Caulfield."

"Y-yes, thanks. I just, uhm, wanted to... make a proposal, I guess. I don't think that neither me or Chloe are ready to meet up with him in person, but maybe we could arrange a telephone conversation with him?"

"You can't be fucking serious, Babe." The punk said as she shook her head. "He is the reason Rachel is gone." Max could see the clenched fists her girlfriend was automatically making, just by thinking about him. There was also the, by now well known, sting of jealousy Max had every time Chloe talked about Rachel.

_Even now, huh? I'm a pretty miserable girlfriend, am I not?_

"That would be very good as well! A great idea." She sounded delighted now, which was kind of strange.

"Listen, Max, we are _not_ responsible to what has happened to Nathan. Maybe he really is nuts and it wasn't his fault per se, or maybe he's a wealthy asshole who did everything with full awareness. I don't care either way."

"I know, Chlo."

After a short moment of pouting and cursing, the punk then asked, "At least ask her why Fuckscott wants to talk to us."

"Okay. Ehh, miss Gabriels, would you mind telling us why he wants to talk to us?"

"You've got every right to ask, miss Caulfield, but in all honesty I don't know for certain. He said something about his father, that's all I know. I just think that it maybe could help him recover from all the trauma he was in up until now, you know?" But Max didn't even listen to the last part of the explanation the head nurse was giving.

"His father?" She aske with a trembling voice. She could feel how Chloe's hands dug deep in her shoulders, after hearing that Sean Prescott was involved.

"He isn't very cooperative if it comes to his father... So I honestly can't tell you much."

"P-Please give us... a few moments."

"Of course."

Max quickly put the phone away, hoping that the nurse wouldn't be able to hear what they would talk about. Just to make sure the brunette started whispering, "Chlo... It's about his father..."

"Fucking shit!" Max knew that Chloe was raging right now, but there was probably also a side deep inside of the punk that knew that hearing the boy out could be very important. And it seemed like that side was winning. After taking a sharp and deep breath through her nose, the blue haired girl agreed. "Let's fucking do this. But if anything starts smelling fishy..."

"Something will be fishy, Chloe. At least that is something I'm sure of." The smaller girl interrupted Chloe.

"Y-Yea... You're probably right..."

With that the hippie grabbed the phone once more and asked, "When can we talk to him?"

"As soon as you want too, actually if you have time right now it would be perfect, but of course if you have something else to do we can arrange a date that fits both you and my patient."

While forming words with her mouth Max asked the punk if right now was okay, but instead of answering Chloe's expression transformed into a struggling grimace.

 _This is too quick. At least give me some fucking time to prepare. Fucking hell!_ But as Chloe started to massage her nose bridge she corrected herself. _We of all people have hella no time to waste._ _Wednesday is already nearly over, and on Friday we're fucked for good... We need something..._ The punk nodded after considering their options. She let out one long sigh and then said, "Alright."

"Miss Gabriels? M-Me and, uhm, Chloe both think n-now would be a good... a good idea." The brunette was now obviously getting nervous as well. The blue haired punk could feel how the smaller girl started trembling in her arms, but right now she needed everything to hold herself together as well. Was it fear? Maybe. After all this guy not just tried to drug and freaking abuse her, but he would have killed her. Puff. Just like that. Now she knew that it was real. Rachel, the storm, the dark room... and her death. Everything had been real.

_My girl has hella mad prophet skills... My life could have been over. Maybe even should have been over. But for some reason... There is this gorgeous little hippy who got the most perfect timing for awakening her inner god. This sounds like the start of one hella sappy manga now that I think about it._

Chloe could then hear some mumbling coming out of the receiver and tensely waited for Max to elucidate it for her. But before she did so, the brunette hung up. With a confused look on her face the bigger girl wanted to ask why Max did that, but before she could do, the freckled girl explained, "She needs about twenty minutes to arrange everything. We have some time. We should tal-"

"Let's go upstairs first. I don't want mom coming home, hearing what we'll probably talk about."

"Alright."

The partners in time made their way to Chloe's room, while not once letting go of each others hands. Even if the punk was pissed, she wouldn't again let it all out on Max.

 _She isn't doing anything wrong. It's the opposite actually. She wants to save me and mom... It's probably just as hard for her._ But Chloe was wrong. It was way worse than she imagined.

The only thing that was going on in Max Caulfield's head was, _This is the guy that killed Chloe. This is the guy that killed Chloe. This is..._ She felt how her knees were nothing more but pudding, and she would've fallen on the floor already, if Chloe's big bed wouldn't have been there to catch her. She spread her arms and legs like a star, while closing her eyes, as she tried to process everything.

_Okay, Max, chill. Just a phone call. Just one. Maybe it's over after that. Maybe we can just be together after that._

As she was talking to herself, she suddenly felt someone crawling next to her on the bed. Chloe nestled her face in the space between her neck and her collarbone. Her heavy body was lying half on top of Max, but she didn't mind at all. Feeling the weight of Chloe's warm and living body, was like having proof of her existence. She was with her. Alive. In love.

Her arms slowly moved behind Chloe's shoulders and pulled her even more downwards to her. And right then she let a sob out. Her eyes filled with liquid as she buried her face in Chloe's blue hair. And instead of moving or even saying anything, Chloe let her girlfriend cry in her arms for the time being. Everything had already been said, even without uttering any sound. So deep was their connection. A deep and old understanding, filled with nothing more but absolute devotion to one another. That was their connection.

After about ten minutes the punk then finally slowly raised her head to face the girl she was lying on. "Maxi-babe, you okay?"

"Uh-huh." She responded while rubbing her eyes clear.

"As much as the circumstances allow it?"

"Uh-huh." The brunette nodded now. "I've got pins of needles in my arm thanks to your bullhead, now. Thanks a lot."

For a moment Chloe was taken back by that, but then snickered and quickly gave Max shoulder a kiss. "I'm sorry, Max's shoulder, but you're hella comfortable, so it's kind of your fault as well." She said while staring at said shoulder.

"You dork... We can get through this Chloe. It's just a phone call..."

"Y-Yeah. You're probably right... Like most of the times..."

"It's fun being in the right, you know?"

"No I don't, because some insecure teeny hipster doesn't give me a chance for that." And as an answer the punk got a playful nudge from one of Max's elbows. "Don't punch me, little jumper, or else I might loose control over myself."

"Hmm. Maybe that's exactly what I want, miss Price." Max looked at her with an smile that was impish, yet seducing, even if the brunette herself didn't notice it.

"Geez, maximum horny is what I should call you inste-"

The freckled girl interrupted her girlfriend as she grabbed her, and rolled herself on top of the bigger girl. Now that their positions were reserved Max's blue eyes stared down right into Chloe's, while her freckled face was hidden behind a layer of brown hair. Their cheeks were slightly blushed, their mouths just inches from one another. But this time the blue haired girl's heart was kind of prepared for Max teasing.

_I can't get flustered every time my little jumper shows affection for me, can I? Well, I wouldn't mind if she would. She's hella cute when she's embarrassed._

"Heh. I never knew you had kung fu moves up in your sleeves."

"I'm full of surprises, Price. Maybe you'll find out sooner or later."

Chloe's eyes narrowed a bit, yet her smile grew even bigger. "Maybe? That sounds kind of boring."

Then, for no apparent reason the freckled girl pulled her face away. Her face was now somewhat serious again. "S-Sorry... This is probably no time for... Just how do you do it, Che?"

"Well, lots of weed and cuddling helps, I guess?"

"You just... It's like you're the all purpose adhesive for my soul, really..."

The seriousness in her voice startled Chloe for a moment, but than she showed a soft and caring smile. "Works both ways... It's nearly time, Maxibaby. He could call every minute now."

"Y-Yeah, I... Fuck, I'm getting nervous already."

"Already? You just cried in my arms."

"Shut up, dork."

"Hah, can't even-" But before the blue haired girl could finish her sentence, the phone suddenly started ringing. It was already time.

The hipster's shaking hand slowly moved towards the receiver, just to be stopped by the punk. Chloe held her hand softly while gazing in her eyes. "Max... Are you sure?"

"Of course not. After all it's me we're talking about. The insecure wanna be photographer. But still. We gotta do this Che."

"Alright. Let's do it. Together. No snapping. No crying... Let's safe that for later at least."

The brunette nodded in agreement. "Together." And with that she took the phone in her hand, put the loudspeaker on and took the call. "Yes?"

Silence...

The two girls could hear each others heavy breathing, but everything else seemed to get numb.

Almost like time was frozen again.

"H-Hey..." A young male voice immediately woke the couple up. "Uhm... This is so fucking strange..."

The punk clawed into her bed sheets. The playful atmosphere totally vanished once once _he_ raised his voice. She needed every drop of self-control to not just start screaming. images of Rachel Amber didn't stop popping in her head. Rachel in school. Smoking together in their room. Chilling in American Rust. She gave her best to keep a low voice, still it contained nothing else but disgust and pure and utter hate for Nathan. "What do you want, fucking Asscott."

"..." For a moment both girls expected him to be just as aggressive as he used to be, but instead they heard a somewhat hurt voice. "Yeah, kind of deserve that nickname."

"J-Just answer my question!" Chloe demanded.

"C-Chloe, calm down." Max whispered while laying one of her hands on the punk's tens shoulder.

"Well, the thing is... My Dad probably threatened you, right?"

Suddenly, to Chloe's surprise, Max voice exploded right next to her ear. "You little motherfucker! I'll never sign that fucking piece of paper, you can rot in your freaking clinic, you hear me?"

Chloe couldn't help it. She smiled. It was probably the most unfitting moment in her entire life but she still let her mouth form into a grin. She had never expected Max of all people to start screaming at him. The punk felt a weird kind proudness towards her girlfriend.. "Wh-Wha... What about calming down Babe?"

"He knows Chloe! This fucker probably wants just to poor salt in our wounds. You must be so proud of yourself you pathetic worm."

"I want to help."

"Course you do. You know how you could do that actually? Get the fuck out of our lives." The freckled girl couldn't stop her emotions from breaking out now. The punk's hand making circular motions on her back helped at least a bit.

"I know, and I will. But right now, you guys need my help. It's fairly obvious that he actually did threaten you, and don't think he won't pull anything on you. He's dangerous, trust me. So, wit that in mind, I want to propose some kind of deal."

This time it was Chloe who spoke up. "Ha! A deal? You're telling us that the almighty Presfuck needs something from us peasants? How cute."

"Yes you two have something I always wanted. And if you would just listen for a second I could try to explain it!" Both of the girls noticed the desperate undertone in his voice, but yet they still couldn't trust one single word that left the rich boy's mouth.

"So we have something that you want? Good! Because you won't get it." The blue haired girl stated.

"But it's something that you want as well."

Now the punk was getting confused. "The fuck does he mean?" But as her face turned towards Max's, the freckled girl had a gloomy yet knowing expression expression on her face.

Before the bigger girl could ask what was going on it already blurred out of the hipster's mouth. "The opportunity to pay your father back for all the shit he has done over the years."

They could hear an amused "Ha." That somewhat confirmed Max theory, but didn't help with Chloe's confusion at all.

"His father?" The punk asked the smaller girl.

"Just how do you know all of this Maxine Caulfield? It's like you could read our minds like all the time."

"Just a good guess." The freckled girl grumbled back. She knew it was true. Nathan always hated his father, and it wasn't just a phase thanks to many hormones or anything like that. Nathan felt pressured by him since he was a child. If she had to point fingers at anyone to be at fault for Nathan's psyche it would be Sean Prescott. She had been in his room after all... Everything in there screamed _'fuck you dad'_ louder than anything else.

_Just thinking about the e-mails they send each other..._

The voice coming out of the receiver pulled her out of her thoughts. "A good guess, huh..." He repeated what she had stated. "Well, I as well wouldn't tell if I were you." Her lie was too obvious, but it seemed like he didn't really care.

"Max, you believe this worm?"

"... At least that he hates his father, yes."

"Fucking hell..." Chloe kept her opinion to herself because she knew that it had probably something to do with what Max knew thanks to her powers, but she was still far from liking it as well. So instead of protesting, she wanted Nathan to explain himself. "If Max says so I will trust her." Upon hearing that a warm feeling spread in the brunette's stomach. "But you still need to tell us what you want."

"It's actually quiet simple. I want you two to go to the police with proven information I have on him and me, so that there'll be no Prescott empire afterwards."

"Quiet simple? You just said you want to fuck yourself over!" Max said with a loud and unbelieving voice.

"Yep."

" _Yep_ my ass! You want us to believe that?" Chloe spat. "What kind of deal it that? You would gain nothing in return! And don't even try the repentance act, fucker."

Another small and somewhat scary chuckle could be heard. "No, no, it's nothing like that. There is of course something I want in return. A catch you could say. The stuff I could give you contains things against the _whole_ family."

Rethinking everything the time traveler knew about him and his family, she once again could already guess what was coming next.

"As I said before, it's quiet simple. I pretty much trade me and father for my mom and my sister. They have quiet frankly nothing to do with this, and I don't want to hurt them." The boy then mumbled something what surprised the two girls. "Enough innocent people have been hurt by me. And even if I would believe that I deserve to be punished, this would have nothing to do with it. You wouldn't accept the deal if I tried to save my own ass, so I would rather trade it if it hurts my father."

It made sense. Too much to be frank. Neither of them really knew if they could or should believe him at all, but one thing was clear as daylight, they needed his help right now. The two girls looked at each other and tried to communicate with their facial expressions alone, in fear Nathan could hear them.

_We don't care for the rest of his family at all, do we Che? We don't need to fuck anyone else up, do we? Let's just accept the deal and keep our promise. Let's give it a shot._

For Max the answer was clear. And so it was for Chloe.

_He has a sister? Who cares?_

Max nodded towards her girlfriend and Chloe gave her a shrug that signaled her disinterest in Nathan's family business. Then the smaller girl said out loud, "Okay, Nathan. What do we need to do to get the information we want?"

"That's actually quiet simple. I got everything here lying next to me. You don't believe how many people willingly helped gathering all of that..."

"Ohh, trust me we do." The punk retorted with a poisonous undertone in her voice.

"You just need to come to Portland and get them. The mass on paper would go over the maximum limit on what I'm allowed to send per week here in the clinic."

 _Meet him. Nathan Prescott? Meeting him? In Portland? The one that killed 'Chloe' and Rachel? The one that threatened me over and over again? The one that nearly drove Kate into suicide?_ Max gulped. "When?"

"The visiting time is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the week."

"We'll be there." Max didn't waste a second to end the call.

Her eyes then looked up at her girlfriend, to see how the punk was holding up. Chloe looked worried more than anything else, but also somewhat angry.

_Can't blame her. But she knows that we need this._

"You okay, jumper?" The blue haired girl carefully asked.

"No... No I'm not."


	31. Breather

The rest of the evening contained nothing else but trying to calm each other down, tears, cursing and cuddling. Nothing new for either of them.

After the phone call with Nathan Prescott, Max explained in more detail what she had actually seen and why she trusted Nathan when he stated that he wants to destroy his father.

"Okay, so he has a father complex, big time, alright. But does that really mean we should eat out of his hands? All of this reeks like hell!"

The brunette was still ruffled by the call, and nervously fiddled with her brown hair. "I don't know. But if we give the police those documents anonymously like before, I don't think anything can really happen."

"Just in case we should wear cloves though. I watched to much Detective Conan with you when we were kids, I know how that shit rolls."

Max snorted on that, but also knew that there was a certain seriousness in Chloe's voice. They really needed to be careful this time. Nathan was not stupid. He somehow managed to find out that his father threatened the two girls after all. Or maybe Sean had told his son about it? Maybe this was all part of their plan?

_Ahhh, just what're we supposed to do now! Fucking Prescott!_ The freckled girl laid her hands on her face and started massaging it.

"You know what's weird as well?" The punk spoke up again. "Why would he even ask us to protect his sister and mother? He could just have taken the pieces that would hurt them, and we would've never known in the first place. Or why doesn't he go to the police himself? If he has all of those evidences against his father he could easily fuck him over himself. No need to involve us at all."

She was right. All of those points were odd. But the smaller girl didn't really had time to ponder about it too much. More than anything else she was worried about her girlfriend.

"I don't know..." And after a short pause the brunette then asked, "Che, how are you holding up? I know it's hard and all, and I, uhm, I'm sorry..."

"For what exactly?" The punk asked as she quirked one of her eyebrows in confusion.

"I, er, well... We gotta see him now. I don't... want you to see the m-murderer of... But I can't do it alone..."

"Hey, hey, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? Maximus, I'm here." The punk moved herself next to her girlfriend who was still lying on the bed. "Of course you won't be alone. Never again, you hear me?" She nestled her blue haired head against Max's neck, and gently started kissing it.

"I'm just... scared." Max moved her hands carefully through the punk's hair, while she enjoyed every touch of her lips on her neck. "I, uhh-" It was really kind of distracting for the freckled girl to be caressed like that. She felt how her breathing got heavier and her face got a bit hotter. "You can't just... kiss away my worries."

On that the punk raised her face and showed a dangerous smile. "Can't I now? Well, that's something I wanna see for myself."

"C-Chloe." The freckled girl moaned her name as her whole being shivered every time she felt a gentle bite around her neck... but then she gently pushed Chloe a few inches away. "W-We... This is not the time Che."

"I-I, er... Yeah, I, uhm, guess you're right..." Kind of embarrassed she turned her face away from the smaller girl. Even if she had decided to wait, it was not like every part of her body screamed _"EAT!"_

_Max deserves better! E-Even if that means that I have to wait before I can get my hands on that bonny ass! But still, I'm hungry like the wolf._

"Hey, do I see you blush, Price?"

"Shut up, nerd." The bigger girl nudged her girlfriend playfully.

"C'mon, we both know that right now really isn't the best time, you said it yourself, didn't you?"

"Yes, I know that already. I haven't even done anything." And after seeing the sceptical expression Max was giving her she added. "Yet."

"Even if you can crack your jokes again, you didn't answer my question." The brunette then remarked.

"Well... How am I holding up? Hmm, pretty bad to be honest. I mean... I always wanted our first time in Portland to be a date, not a fucked up meet up with psycho Nathan."

"That's what bugging you?" Max asked, while rolling with her eyes.

"Heh, you sound disappointed. No seriously, worst case scenario would be that he lied to us and the files are worthless, then we're in the same situation we're now in. But if they're actually helpful, we get not just Darth Prescott, but also his insane son."

"If you put it like that..."

"Max, he won't hurt you _or_ me anymore. We probably won't be alone with him anyways. And if he tries anything be sure that I'm ready to stomp his face." Chloe stated while giving Max a thump up.

"Please... Don't attack him." The freckled girl knew that there was more than a joke behind the last sentence of her girlfriend.

"... I'll try. But let's face reality here. I've never been big on self-control... We better make it quick. In and out. Easy. So I won't have to think of... _Her_..." Chloe's head sank down, now that she started remembering her lost friend.

Max gave the girl sitting next to her on the bed a sad smile and then embraced her. Chloe's head rested now on Max shoulder. A sudden wave of exhaustion hit the punk all over. She closed her eyes and just indulged in the feeling of Max's finger, who playfully and carefully took of the beanie and started caressing her hair. Max knew after all the time it was still hard for the punk to accept Rachel's death. So instead of saying anything half-assed, she decided to comfort Chloe not with words but with a good dose of cuddling.

_How can Che ever get better? Probably not if she's reminded of her loss every fife minutes... But it was such a terrible thing..._ _I'm just happy that my Chloe didn't see the corpse like the other one did. No one deserves to see that horror._ A shiver ran down her spin once the images popped up again.

"Chloe? We, eh, need to stay c-calm tomorrow. We... We can't loose control in there, okay? Or they'll probably throw us out of the hospital and we won't get the papers."

A disgusted, "Uchhh" Left the bigger girl's mouth. "I... I know that already, Maxi."

"I know that you know, Che, I just... I want us to have nothing to worry about afterwards, okay? Life is actually hard enough by itself."

"Amen to that..."

Max than decided that she really needed a shower right now. She felt dirty after all that crying and screaming. She explained her girlfriend that she was going to wash of some of the stress. Chloe shrugged on that. "I won't run anywhere. Gonna check what the world is doing in the meantime." The bigger girl said as she booted her laptop.

"Do that. J-Just in case... I... I won't lock the door."

"Why wouldn't you... Oh! Get outta here! You succubus!" Chloe stretched her tongue out while her face took on a deep shade of red.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time we share a shower, would it?" The brunette winked at her girlfriend, but even through her freckles she couldn't hide the fact that she was blushing as well. As an answer Max nearly got hit by a pillow that was thrown at her.

"You're dangerous Caulfield!"

With a little chuckle Max then left the room.

_Geez, for how long can I keep up with Max acting like that... I really need an idea for when we... But first comes Portland... Yeah, Portland... Oh, wait! We could go on a date there! Hell, I won't let our first time in a 'big city' be ruined by some wealthy asshole!_

* * *

After a somewhat calming hot shower the freckled girl felt like not just body had become much cleaner again, but also her mind. She took her time enjoying the streams of water running down her pale skin, and was now somewhat calmly planning the next few days.

_Okay. So I guess I won't go to school for the rest of the week. That's okay. Two out of five is not a bad start, considering that a fucking aristocrat threatened us. Tomorrow we'll be in Portland, that is our first priority for now, obviously. And then on Friday I don't think I'll be calm enough to be separated from my dork for more than five minutes... Let's just hope everything goes as planned._

Max dried herself as much as she could, but was to lazy to use a blow drier. So with still somewhat wet hair she reentered Chloe's lair.

The punk raised her head from her laptop and asked, "What about something to munch? I feel like I could eat a... uhm... otter? A big on?..."

Max snorted upon seeing her girlfriend running out of witty ideas. As she shook her head she then said with fake concern, "Poor otters... Just who will safe them from the great punk shark?"

On that the blue haired girl let out a chuckle as well. "Now I won't be able to get the picture of a shark with an Mohawk out of my head... Hmmm, how do you think otter actually tastes?"

"Gee, let's stop it right there, okay?"

"Sure, miss vegan hipster."

"I'm not a vegan!"

"Not yet. Just watch it, one day you'll chain yourself on the plant you have in your room."

"Leave Lisa out of it. She's special, okay?"

"You _named_ your plant!?" The punk couldn't help but burst into laughter after hearing that.

"Mom gave it to me as a farewell gift! As a token of me being independent!"

The bigger girl tried to gain her composure again, but there was no helping it. "A... Plant... You're killing me."

"... Maybe I really should date Lisa instead of some meany." The brunette pouted.

"Hey, that would be the first time a human would actually be jealous of a plant." Chloe quipped back.

"Oho, so you would be jealous."

"I would actually charge her."

"Pfff, of what?"

"Thievery, duhh, you're mine Caulfield!" And then with a victorious "Ha!" The punk added, "I'm hella smooth today!"

"Wowser, you really are the definition of adorkable, you know that?"

Both girls felt better now for some reason. Was it hope that once again started growing in them? Maybe. Or maybe they just had no more tears left in them that could be shed. But, at least for now, neither of them cared for the why. They just indulged in their good mood. After about half an hour Joyce came home, David would be home late because someone sprayed _"School sucks"_ over a wall on the Blackwell campus, and the couple asked if they could have a sleepover today.

"You really asking _me_ for permission? I don't know how you do it, Max, but you really bring out the little girl inside of Chloe."

"Don't complain now mom. Her presence probably makes you feel ten years younger as well."

"You saying I'm old, honey?"

"I, er..." The daughter was desperately searching for something that would get her out of it.

"Matured. That's the word to describe you. Right Chloe?"

"Eh, yea."

The mother puffed on that. "Be happy that you have such a silver-tongued girlfriend."

But the daughter knew her mother's expression, and could already assume that she would be punished one way or another. "Oh, please mom, don't cut the meat today. I need my protein."

"Hmm, maybe I won't... if someone is willing to do the dishes for once."

"God damn it." But than the punk raised her hands and surrendered. "Okay, okay. You got me."

The freckled girl couldn't help but snicker. There was this warm and comforting feeling in her stomach. Here with two people she considered family she truly felt at home... She didn't want those days to end.

_But they'll eventually anyways. Chloe won't live her forever, and I'll probably move with her... The curse of aging, huh..._

The partners in time and Joyce enjoyed their meal together, and afterwards the punk actually did clean the dishes up... With the help of the other two women.

"You need to understand mom, Max doesn't help me because she's a nice girl or anything like that." The blue haired girl stated out of nowhere.

That made the elder woman curious. "Aha, so why does she help you?"

"Isn't it obvious? She wants alone time with me. The faster we are done, the faster we can go to my room."

"Huh!?... Wha..." It felt like the blood that rushed into her cheeks disabled her ability to speak. "T-That's n-not true!"

_Okay, maybe it actually is to some degree, but I enjoy Joyce company too!_ But the freckled girl would never confess something like that.

"Sure, play the saint. I've seen your dark side, Caulfield."

"Sh-Shut it." And to make sure Chloe would do so, she gave her a slap on the shoulder.

"Ouch! See mom?"

Joyce watched the two of them with a big grin over her lips as she shook her head. Both Max and Chloe knew what that smile was saying. She was simply glad that the two of them were happy together. "Just get out of here you two. You helped enough for today."

"Yippe ki-yay! Freedom!"

"You can't be that allergic to work, can you?"

"You bet I can! Why don't you give me a kissy-kiss on my ouchy-ouch?"

"The brunette just rolled with here eyes. "I wonder how you'll manage next week in the coffee."

"Oh my, what coffee?"

_Oh shit, she didn't tell her mom! Whoops._

"I, ehm... Surprise?"

"You got a job?"

"Kind of? They first wanna check what I'm made of next week."

"Oh, that's great news, darling! Why didn't you tell me?"

The blue haired girl scratched the back of her head, while at the same time her pale skin took on a shade of red. "I... kind of wanted to pay back my bill in two whales." She still wanted to be a supporting pillar for Max once they grew older, but a pillar with a lot of debts is not a good one. Or at least that's what was going through her head at the time.

The older woman needed to sit down after hearing that. "Chloe... That's... so cute of you."

"Cute?... That's not what I was going for."

"You hella are, though." Max intervened.

"Grouping up against me is like second nature to you two, isn't it?"

"Well you don't make it too difficult." Max stretched out her tongue, while she got a middle finger from Chloe in return. But both girls and even Joyce laughed afterwards.

* * *

The evening concluded with the two girls sitting on the bed, planning the next day.

"We have our alarm set for seven in the morning right?"

"Check."

"We have enough gas in the truck?"

"Check."

"Enough food for the ride?"

"Double check."

"We're mentally prepared for tomorrow?"

"... Don't think to much about it, Maxaroni. Or you won't get any shut eye."

"Gave up on that long ago. Sleep is overrated anyways." The brunette said as she let herself fall onto the bed. Her girlfriend did the same just seconds after her, and landed right next to her. "At least you're right next to me. That's comforting." She said, rather exhausted.

Instead of giving a casual answer, which was that Max was sappier than the ending scene of titanic, Chloe just slung her arms around the smaller girl and started spooning with her. The brunette deeply enjoyed the feeling of having Chloe's body pressed at her back.

_In all those movies they always say "I have your back." and now I get it. Someone literally having my back really feels... soothing. Almost like nothing can go wrong as long as she is with me._

Max stayed awake for some more time, even after she heard snorting sound that probably came from the bigger girl right behind her. She just enjoyed the feeling of Chloe's breath on her neck instead of getting some shuteye. But then after what could've been hours here eyelids became heavier and heavier, and slowly her conscious faded away.

As the freckled girl opened her blue eyes again she wasn't lying in Chloe's bed anymore. Actually there was no trace of her blue haired girlfriend. She was standing in an all too familiar place. The lighthouse above Arcadia Bay.

_Okay, just one of my nightmares. Not like I haven't had one of those before, right? I can handle it._ The time traveler braced herself for the horrors that would be gushing out of the forest every second now. But... Something seemed off though. After looking around a bit more she noticed something weird.

_Where is... the storm?_

The weather was actually quiet nice. She could even feel the warm rays of sunlight on her skin. She narrowed her eyes and brought her hands on her hips, as she waited for something to happen. But there was nothing. Just the splashing of the waves right under the edge of the cliff. Just the leafs rustling in the wind. Just a few birds singing their songs to finally greet the coming autumnal.

But no screaming, no death and, no pain.

"Just what is the point?" She said rather annoyed as her impatience grew more and more.

And right then, seemingly out of nowhere, she could hear a laughter. A husky laughter. But wait. Didn't she know the person that belonged to the laughter?

_The homeless... But why... And where?_

But the older woman was, just like in the real world, nowhere to be found.

"Just what do you want from me?! Who are you?" She yelled into the woods, she yelled down the cliffs, she yelled into the sky, but nothing could give her an answer.

Then suddenly a voice startled her. "Max? Wake up!"

"Wh-What!?... Where?"

The freckled girl's blue eyes jumped open and she needed a few seconds before she realized that she was yet again laying next to her girlfriend.

"We're hella late! We need to get going asap!"

An "Oh fucking shit!" escaped Max's mouth as she saw the time as we. "Didn't the alarm go off on your handy?"

"It did!"

"Why did it not wake us up?" The brunette spoke her mind out loud as she searched for her pullover.

"... It did wake me up."

That surprised Max. She turned around with one eyebrow quirked upwards. "Why didn't you wake me then?"

"I..." The blue haired girl nervously grabbed her right elbow with her left hand. "I kind of lost myself in watching you sleep..." She then shyly admitted. "A-Anyways, let's get going Caulfield! Chop-chop!"

"You're such a dork." Max groaned back, as she swung her camera back around her shoulder.

_Time to finally get this over with. Maybe once we get the documents we'll finally be left alone by psychotic assholes... And hopefully left alone by weird dreams as well._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for now ^^
> 
> Quite early this chapter, but despite not much story development happening here, I think sometimes those chapters are needed. I think everyone who's been through hard times had this one moment when he/she just started laughing because of it. I kinda tried to create exactly that in this chapter.


	32. Round one

It was like the somewhat soothing grumbling of the rusty truck was the substitute for a dialog between the two girls. Both had other things on their mind and no concentration left for anything else. They would meet up with the killer of Rachel Amber very soon after all. And they probably needed to behalf on top of that, which was, especially for Chloe, a very hard thing to do.

 _Can't blame her though. I'm already unbelievably grateful that she came with me without any hesitation at all. It's not like I don't understand her... Just remembering how it felt after Jefferson... No, Max, just no! We won't go there! Not today._ The freckled girl scolded herself. But she couldn't help it. As she stared out of the window her thoughts just rambled and there was no stopping them.

The punk on the other hand was nervously tapping with her fingers on the wheel. She didn't try to empty her mind, like her girlfriend, either. Pretty much the opposite was happening at that time. The playful mood the two of them had just yesterday was all but gone already. Images of Rachel and her just wouldn't stop popping up in her head. Their first meeting on the school campus. Them slowly becoming friends over time. Them nearly becoming more than friends... A pang of guilt hit her heart.

 _I have Max. I don't... But I still miss her though... B-But just as a friend... Can I really keep calm after what Nathan did? I have to. For Max._ The blue haired girl glanced over to Max's side and for a few seconds their blue eyes met. A small, and somewhat sad smile appeared on their lips, but then Chloe had to look at the road again. The bigger girl wasn't the biggest fan of risky driving, for obvious reasons, but still scorched over the road a little bit too fast for her taste. But they were already late, and they couldn't afford to miss their chance.

"H-Hey, Che, how much longer do we need to drive?"

"Not sure myself. The GPS says..." She took a quick look at her smartphone. "About fifteen minutes and we're there."

The brunette sank back down in her seat and her throat was suddenly completely dry. She gulped and then respond with, "Wish we had some more time."

"On the other hand it's better that it'll be over soon, right?" The blue haired girl retorted with an unreadable face, even for Max.

"Y-Yeah..." The brunette didn't say anything afterwards but a cramp was starting to build in her stomach. She was still worried that Chloe wouldn't be able to control her anger. But Max had already decided in her heart that she wouldn't hold a grude against it, if it actually happend. The atmosphere was getting worse by the second now, and just for some kind of distraction the freckled girl turned the radio on.

_I, I can remember_

_Standing, by the wall_

_And the guns, shot above our heads_

_And we kissed, as though nothing could fall_

_And the shame, was on the other side_

Peter Gabriel's heroes echoed through the speakers. But even music wasn't able to calm either of the girls. They drove through one last little burb and then finally arrived at Portland. Max didn't have the best memories of this city, because the only time she visited it had been the day she had left Arcadia... left Chloe. The cutting emotion of betrayl and guilt still lingered in the air, and the brunette wasn't sure if that would ever change. She then glimpesed on the other side of the drivers bench and observed her girlfriend for a while.

 _Is there still a part of her that's angry because I left? I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. She went through hell for a few years... before Rachel descended upon her. Shit, I can't feel jealous of her. They never even had anything with each other._ And then after a few seconds her face made a grimace of shame and disgust which was apparently so obvious that even Chloe turned her head.

"You okay, Max? I mean, as okay as it it can be under those circumstances."

"I-Im fine..." She obviously lied, but she couldn't tell the punk what just went through her head.

 _It's not important what or what not they had with each other. Get over yourself, you selfish bitch!_ She spat nonverbal at herself.

"Hey babe, everything is gonna be okay, okay?" The driving girl felt restless because of Max's facial expression.

"... Sure hope so. H-How much longer is it?" She wanted to move the conversation away from her inner thoughts, simply bcause she knew that Chloe would notice it if anything was wrong... Or _more_ wrong than it was already.

"Luckily most people are already at work or in school, or whatever normies do, so we made it just in time." At a red light she glimpsed at her smartphone once more. "Well, if we can trust Google maps I would say about five minutes tops."

"Okay. C-Chloe... I'm scared." Max suddenly confessed.

"Y-Yeah, won't say I'm not, but thinking about it logically there is not much that could go wrong honestly."

"Logic didn't help much in the past. Remember, I have fucking time travel powers for no apparent reason."

But before the punk could answer with anything, a big building at the outer edge of the city started building up before them. It was brown and looked very simple. Just flat walls, occasionally a small window, and a door on the front. It was enclosed by rather high walls though.

"That's it, I think..." The blue haired girl sighed once more. "Listen, Max, this has nothing to do with your powers. The only one at fault here is the Fuckscott family."

"... No, Che, my powers are at the core of everything. I... I could have used them, smarter! Shouldn't have shown my face either... So many mistakes..."

Suddenly something touched her cheek, and the brunette was being pulled out of her trance of self-loathing. Her head jerked to Chloe's side and then she understood that the bigger girl had just tried to caress her girlfriend. Her hand moved from her face into the brown hair and gently stroke Max's head. With a frowned face the punk then loudly stated, "Just stop it already Max! You can't fucking control everything! What if you did hide your face? What makes you think it would've gone down without any complications? Maybe it wouldn't have been us but David, or someone else, but everything you did up till now was to save the whole town. Just... stop hating yourself so much Max."

"I... Sorry." The then groaned and went through her brown hair with one of her hands. "I know, we talked about stopping to pull ourselves down, I just..."

"Don't worry, jumpy." Chloe interrupted her, again with pure fondness in her voice. "I get it. This is hard on you _and_ me. That's why I asked if you're alright. Sorry to be a bitch again..."

"It's fine really, but... What about you? Are you... alright?"

"Course not." She immidiatley responded. She then carefully laid her hand on top of Max's and looked her eyes into her girlfriend's. "We need to get going."

But instead of moving out of the car door, the freckled girl decided to shift in the opposite direction right towards the bigger girl, just so she could put her lips on Chloe's. Both of them needed the physical comfort right now. Their arms slung around one another and they pressed their bodies against each other. With a small sight the two girls separated their lips then, but kept in each others embrace for the time. The bigger girl rested her forehead against Max's, and face to face, they gazed at each others smiles.

 _I can't say it too many times. I need nothing else to be happy, but her. Just_ _her_.

* * *

On the short walk towards the clinic neither of the girls had the energy for a little chitchat, so instead they just headed towards the building in silence. When they finally reached it they stood right before the double glass-doors, and could already see a woman standing behind a counter, which, had in big letters, " _INFO_ " written over it.

 _Once we step inside, there is no going back._ Max's blue eyes then moved over to her girlfriend. Chloe's usual cool and childish composure was totally gone by now. Clenched fists and stiff shoulders were accompanied by a facial expression that reminded the freckled girl of a balloon that was about to explode.

_Is she really going to be okay in there? Chloe's emotions have been jumping back and forth the whole day and, even if I totally understand her, I just hope that we won't fuck up anything._

"Let's get going." The punk said in a low voice, thanks to her mouth not opening much. Her whole jaw was probably tensed up as well at the moment.

"Y-Yea." Max nodded. Then Chloe pushed against the door, which swung open, but stood there frozen in place.

She saw that her girlfriend was just as scared as she was, but instead of waiting Max pulled all her courage together and made a first step inside. Then a second one. Her knees were getting shaky now. A third step. Her hands were sweaty as well. Right as she made the fourth one, she felt a hand laying down on her shoulder, and instead of realizing that it was obviously Chloe's the freckled girl totally winced.

"Don't be so jumpy, _jumpy_." The bigger girl tried to calm her down with a sassy joke, just like she always did when she was worried, but both of them know that it was not very convincing this time.

"I'm... gonna try. C-Can we hold hands, Che?" The brunette shyly asked as she nervously tucked a lock of loose hair behind her ear.

"... I think I would like that as well." The blue haired girl admitted.

Hand in hand they made the next few meters until they stood right before the woman behind the counter, who was surprisingly calm despite the couple's strange behavior. The woman with curly blond hair just chew her bubblegum calmly.

 _Maybe it's not so odd when you work in such a place for some time. A lot of people must have it hard to visit their friends or family in here, I guess._ The hippy concluded.

"H-hello... We...We're here to visit a patient."

"Ah-hah, could I have your two ids? Just wanting to check if you're really human." She added with a wink directed towards Max.

"Of course." Max immidiatley pulled hers out of her pocket and gave it the woman, the punk did the same just moments after.

"Okay miss... Maxine Caulfield, and Chloe Elizabeth Price... Yep, got you here on my list. With Nathan Prescott? That's interesting. Quite the nice kid, isn't he?"

That statement stunned the partners in time. Nice kid? Nathan? Was she thinking that they were visiting a friend? Or maybe even family? But to be fair, how could she guess that they were here because of some twisted politics.

"He killed one of my best friends." Chloe said bluntly with an icecold voice.

Suddenly the woman's eyes got very big and her polite smile dropped. "Oh." She needed a moment to gather herself after that. After a short cough to clear her throat she then said, "A...Alright. J-Just follow the corridor and until the end, then go right and there you already should see the entrance to the visiting area. It's well-signposted so you shouldn't miss it." The blonde rattled the directions off like she had done it a thousand times before, with a slight discomfort in her voice. But neither of the two girls even really registered how the woman behind the counter was feeling. Neither did they care. They just cared about getting what they came for and leaving as soon as possible.

With goose-steps they made their way down the hallway and then took the last turn on their right.

_VISITING AREA_

A big logo was written right over a rather big door that was closed. The couple halted right in front of it and both girls just stared at it for a few moments.

"Anything we wanna do before going in? Toilet?" Chloe asked.

"L-Let's just do it already." Max answered while sharply in- and exhaling through her nose.

Chloe's hand slowly reached for the doorknob, and the freckled girl could see how her girlfriend's hand was shaking while doing so. The door swung open and revealed a rather big white room. In fact the room was so bright thanks to the white paint on the walls and all the furniture being just as white, that both of them needed a few moments before their eyes adjusted to it. But then they saw him. Sitting there. Alone. Nobody else was there to visit. Not him. Not anybody else. The room was completely empty aside of Nathan Prescott sitting at one of the dazzlingly white tables. His face darted to where the door was as soon as he heard it being opened, and now there they were, Chloe and Max stood there frozen in place right in the door-frame and neither of them seemed like they would move any time soon.

"H-Hey, guys. Long time no see." he weakly waved at the couple and tried to bring a totally faked smile on his face. There should be no need to say that it didn't work.

"Shut up Nathan." Chloe spat through her teeth. "Just give us what we came for."

"First I wanted to talk to you guys, afterwards you can-"

"Not part of the deal, Fuckscott."

Upon being interrupted and offended, the brown haired boy closed his eyes for a moment, and took a few big breather in. In the meantime Max and Chloe moved into the room and closed the door behind them. Now they were truly isolated with him. "I want to talk to you, so I can trust you. I... In there" he pointed at the bag to his legs, "are things that would destroy my family-"

"Good."

He tried to ignore Chloe's comment. "- Giving you just parts of the documents wouldn't make any sense. I need you two to explain the police that my sister and mother are clean on all of this, and in here is evidence for that."

"So if we need to explain it that means they are not? If they were we wouldn't need to defend them at all." The punk let out an cynical Tsk. "Wouldn't surprise me, with that fucked up family of yours."

"Chloe, please... Can you please stop?" The boy asked of her very nicely. Suspiciously nice to be exact.

"Or what?" Her eyes narrowed to slits.

"You can hate and offend me all you want, but my mom and sis have nothing to do with this. Their names pop up a few times here and there, but if you read the papers you will see that they are as clean as a normal person. I swear!" His voice was nearly begging. For Max, who up until now just had observed everything, it was disturbing to see Rachel's murderer in such a state.

"Sure. They had nothing to do with anything. At least in Arcadia. I bet they have their own fucked up cellar where they abduct children. Right?"

"I told you to stop!" He was getting louder now, but instead of stopping Chloe just went further with her provoking.

"You liked girls, so maybe they enjoy taking in small boys? But just maybe, right? Let's just ignore them, right? Oh and best get you out of here as well, sure thing! You deserve it, you were just used after all. Poor poor Nathan. The world is sooo hard for you with all the money, and family and a dad that didn't die. But you need to hate it. Take everything from everyone around ya like it belongs to you."

"You fucking... you don't know anything!"

But The blue haired girl didn't let herself get interrupted, and just got even louder as she screamed, "Hell, you probably have enough money to really buy everything around you. There was just one thing you couldn't have. Because she didn't loved you. That's why you killed her!" Chloe screamed and screamed out of lungs, her face got redder and redder. Her wrath was bubbling non stop out of her. It was just as Max had expected.

Then suddenly there was a loud sound. Nathan's fist thundered on the table and a loud bang interrupted the bigger girl's hate speech. "I told you to fucking stop, you fucking punk ass bitch!"

The first words the freckled girl added to the conversation were a try to calm the blue haired girl. "C-Calm down, Chlo. Please, let's just-"

"Or what, Prescott? You gonna call daddy again?" The blue haired girl didn't even hear the smaller girl's pleading.

"That's it! I wanted to help you two fuckers, but now you can take your little hipster bitch and get the fuck out her!"

"Don't you dare!..." The punk hissed. "Don't you dare talk about Max like that!"

"Or what, Price?" He quoted her. "You just wanna fuck with her for a bit and then drop her anyways, after all she's just your little Rachel substitute, so don't act like you really care about her."

Despite the seriousness of their situation and the mixed emotions that were inside of her, Max was taken aback by that. It hurt her to hear what she had thought multiple times already, even before she went back in time to safe Chloe. "That's not..." She whispered, but her voice was drowned by Chloe's yelling. The blue haired punk screamed, "That's it!" And at the same time started charging at him without even thinking about the consequences. The rather big girl tackled the boy out of the chair in which he was still sitting, and both of them fell on the ground. While Max was too overwhelmed to help, she only managed to let out a desperate shriek.

After some tussling the punk somehow ended up on top of Nathan, thanks to her, for a girl, rather strong body. "YOU! DO! NOT! TALK! ABOUT! MAX! LIKE! THAT!" With every word she crashed her fist in his face. With every word she could hear Max scream to stop. With every word the red before her eyes got brighter and brighter. Chloe couldn't stop anymore. It felt too good. The dull smacking sound was like music to her ears.

Then out of the darkness all around Chloe, there were two small hands pulling her shoulder back. She tried to stay right where she was. Tried to get just one more of those wonderful punches in. _Just one more._ Then the punk heard it. A sob right behind her back. A sob she heard too often in the last two weeks. Max was crying. Because of her? Of course it was because of her! She just ruined their plans. At first she thought Nathan had kicked her in the stomach, but in truth the pain was just coming from the sudden realization that she fucked up. Suddenly all the power she just felt was gone. The surge of hate that gave her powers just faded away into nothingness.

She tried to get away from the boy, who was still cowering in pain on the floor. But instead of standing up she fell on her bottom. She didn't even noticed before, but her legs were shaking. Then the punk's blue eyes wandered down onto her red fists.

_Wait. Red?_

Was that blood on her knuckles? She tried to open her shaky and cramped fists, but her fingers just moved very slowly and were almost vibrating. Then a gigantic explosion of pain suddenly went through her fingers as she moved them some more. They were broken. Now she also saw how they were already swelling, and she wasn't sure if her little finger was a bit crooked. She _actually_ broke her fingers on his face. His... face?... She glazed down at the boy still lying on the floor. His face was... red... Red like her hands. Blood gushed out of his deformed nose and a wound right above his left eye. Did she do that? Something this disgusting? She didn't know if it was the pain, the fact that because of her Sean Prescott just won or because of how good it felt to hurt someone else so much, but right now Chloe just wanted to throw up. Her eyes started leaking and she could feel how two arms slung around her from behind.

"Everything is gonna be okay. It's okay Chloe. Please don't hurt yourself or him anymore. It's enough." Max voice was more a whimper than a whisper, but the punk knew that it was a lie. Nothing was okay. They would never get the documents now. He would ruin them. Ruin her mother's job she loved so much. And it was her fault. Hers alone.

"L-Let's just grab the fucking papers and get the fuck outta here." The bigger girl desperately tried to find a solution.

 _We can still make it._ Just need to act fast now! She told herself. But then they could hear yelling of some staff members, who were probably rushing through the corridor. It was too late. They would be taken in custody and then everything would be over.

_I fucked up. I fucked up. Fucked up. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

Chloe's face slowly turned around. A face haunted by guilt and regret. Her eyes were full of tears, and her whole head was still red thanks to the rage that was seething inside of her. "Max, I-I... So sorry... F-Fucked up."

The brunette started shacking her head frantically as she said, "No, no, no, don't even think like that. Everything is gonna be fine. We just... we just have to stay together!"

"Stop lying, Max. I went to far... We're done..."

 _Why can't anything work in my fucked life? Why can't I control my anger? Why does everything I love gets destroyed by me? Just... Why? I wish I could act differently just once. Not fucking up just once! If only I could have one more try..._ Suddenly her heart dropped into her gut.

 _No. I can't ask that of her. But she knew that she needed to._ That Max needed to. Her hands grabbed the smaller girl's shoulders and she ignored the immense waves of pain coming from such a movement. Hot tears ran down the punk's face as she begged her girlfriend to save the two of them. "R-Rewind Ma...Max." Was all she could stutter in the condition she was in. She could see how Max's blue eyes slowly opened wider and wider as she realized what the bigger girl just suggested. But there was no other way, was there? As funny as it may sounds, there was not even any time to think about what Max had to do. The freckled girl just realized that as well right when the door was forcefully being opened.

Three men in white tunics rushed in the room and forced the blue haired girl on the ground. One of them looked around and spotted Max and was slowly closing the distance between her but stopped as the brunette raised her right hand right above her chest. He slowly started backing away again. The other two men who were pinning down her girlfriend also stood up and slowly backed away, not once letting Max or Chloe out of their sight. They slowly shifted their bodies towards the door, went through it and when all three of them were out of the room they closed the door again.

The bigger girl then started beating Nathan once more, but this time everything was so slowly that Max could even see a few drops of blood flying through the air.

Both Chloe and Nathan flew through the air, and while he landed with his bottom on the chair she moved back to where they stood, and from there she also, just like the three security guards, started moving towards the door. It took Max a moment but then she realized that she had to move as well and quickly dashed after her girlfriend, just right in time before she would close the door behind herself.

* * *

"... before going in? Toilet?" Chloe asked. After not getting an answer for a few moments, the blue haired girl turned around in confusion, and beheld how her girlfriend was absolutely devastated. But what disturbed the bigger girl the most was not the fact that Max needed to support herself on the wall to stay on her feet, or that her face and eyes were still red from all the crying. No... The thing that disturbed the punk was the nosebleed. She had read the journal. She knew what it meant. After the first moment of shock started to wear off she embraced the smaller girl, and the two of them sank on the ground.

"Chlo... Chloe..." Max sobbed her name over and over again.

The brunette didn't need to say anything. Chloe already knew what was going on. "I fucked up, didn't I?"

"You idiot!" The freckled girl yelled into Chloe's leather jacket. Then as if all strength had left Max, her voice was suddenly nothing more but a whimper. "You... idiot..." For a moment the punk feared the girl in her arms would loose conscious, but then Max's face jerked upwards and placed a long and intense kiss on her lips. Chloe was caught absolutely off guard by that, but the freckled girl was relentlessly pulling her deeper in the kiss, as if she wanted to stick her face in Chloe's, and at some point the punk just gave in and started kissing her girlfriend back.

It took her a few more moments, but then finally Max pulled her head back, and Chloe wasn't really sure if it was because the smaller girl was ready to talk or because she just needed to catch some air. But then Max's weak voice started speaking. "You... n-nearly killed him. I had to go back... They would've taken you away from me..."

The only thing the punk could answer was an honest and sharp, "Shit..."

"I... I did it again, Chloe... I should have stopped you. I knew how you... feel."

The bigger girl tightly grabbed Max shoulders upon hearing that. "You did nothing wrong, jumpy! I... I know that I'm not in the best mood right now but... that I would loose myself like that."

The freckled girl sniffed once, but then shook her head. "I get it. I really do. You loved Rachel after all." It hurt to admit it, but it was the brutal truth. But right now was not the time for all that stupid jealousy.

Chloe was clearly taken aback by that statement, but didn't deny it either. For now it would be best to leave such a topic for later, was what she thought. "I... I'm sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry Max. I know how hard it must've been for you to rewind again. I... I owe you big time."

"Actually... It wasn't." The smaller girl admitted. "And that's the scary part. It's like my body is used to it as if I started playing with time since I was a baby or something."

Chloe didn't know what she could answer. There was no explanation to anything regarding her girlfriend's powers, not here, and not in the other timeline. So instead the punk saved her breath and started thinking about the whole ordeal. After a few more seconds she closed her eyes, embraced Max once more and let out a big sigh. Then she asked with a voice full of guilt and regret for something she didn't do yet, "Let's think about all that time shit _later_. First of all we need to get those papers from... him. Think you can manage to go in once more?"

On that the smaller girl moved her head away from Chloe's neck and faced her girlfriend with her eyes narrowed. "You ask if I manage? I wasn't the one who..."

"Yea, well. I learn from my mistakes... Even if I didn't do them... Yet? You get it. I just saw you crying because of what me-in-five-minutes did, you really think I will repeat that?"

"... I don't know. You said it yourself, you're really upset right now."

"Yes. Now though, mostly at myself. I know what it'll cost us if we fuck up after all. It's not important who I have to talk to as long as I stay with you thanks to keeping my mouth shut." Hearing that created as small spark of happiness in the smaller girl.

 _She really cares about me... Even if she totally lost control in there, I think... I think she's okay now._ Max then let out a sigh of her own. "Why do I need to rewind before you realize that, you dork?"

"... I'm sorry." Chloe said once more, with an intensity in her voice Max didn't expect. The punk really meant what she said.

"You owe me, Price. Don't think I'll forget that."

Hearing that the freckled girl was feeling better again let Chloe's mouth forma smile. "Aye aye, madam! Everything you desire."

"Don't take your mouth to full." The brunette warned. "Anyways... You're right. We don't know what will happen next. Hell, maybe there'll be even a storm again... Or maybe not. But despite everything, we need those documents."

"Shall we get going then, captain?"

Max took one last deep breath, and then nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this. Without violence!"

The blue haired punk gave an agreeing nod and then moved her hand against the door. The wooden door swung open and the partners in time stepped in the white room one more time.

_Time for round two._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> Don't know why, but I had a blast writing this xD
> 
> I don't have much time next week so there probably won't be a chapter, just so you guys know that :P
> 
> Also sorry if there are any grammar mistakes in it again, I can't find the the time to proofread the chapter right now.


	33. Round... One?

"I need to confirm that I can trust you. That's why I want to talk to you first." The boy sitting right before Chloe and Max explained. His hands were folded on the table and his eyes wandered back and forth between the little and the bigger girl. The punk had heard what happened last time, so even if every part of her body screamed to at least spit Nathan in the face, she behaved. Even if she would love to crush his fucking head, she behaved. Even if she wanted to break every bone he had in his fucking body, she behaved. She behaved for her love, because in truth she was still pissed at herself as well.

 _Didn't I want to protect my little jumper? And now I made her cry... Again!... Fucking shit! At least now I can make up for it. I just hope she won't be too angry because of the other me that... hurt Nathan._ Just thinking about it filled her stomach with uncertainty.

But then the blue haired girl got pulled back into reality upon being startled by a bang that was created by a folder full of files, being tossed on the white table in front of her.

"That's it. Everything I have." Nathan stated as he rested his hands on top of the black folder.

Chloe could hear how her girlfriend gulped. She could feel the greed emitting out of Max. The brunette _wanted_ those files. The key to end this whole mess once and for all. Her blue eyes were locked on the big folder and didn't even move when Nathan started talking again in his weirdly calm fashion.

"It's quite simple. In there are pretty much enough things to show that my sister and mom are innocent. I want those files to be handed to the police. If not for those documents, those two will be caught in the storm that it'll create. I _don't_ want that." He emphasised his last sentence with a somewhat intimidating undertone. Or at least he tried to.

"Just get it over with Prescott. We told you that we just want to be left alone." Chloe responded. She already knew that Max was way to nervous by now to really participate in the conversation, she would have to caress her girlfriend later a lot. But for now she needed to stay focused on not messing this up... again. "So you're saying that we just have to give those piles of files to the police. That's it? He's really _that_ crusty? Not that I'm surprised."

"Yea... You really shouldn't be." The two girls knew what was coming next, he would talk about how hard his life was and how having such a father broke him, it was just that they didn't care. At all. Neither of them would ever forgive him, even if his life was a tragedy. "He always led everyone to believe that I'm flawless. No B-grads. No fights. No alcohol or drugs. The perfect heir. I got the chance to go to the best schools, wear the best clothes and get everything I want... _But_ it's like half my life was just to prepare me to be... Sean Prescott one day."

Chloe nearly winced when she heard the freckled girl next to her raise her voice. "Half your life?"

 _Did she really just ask that? Why does she even care? He is the murderer of Rachel. Who cares what his life was like. Hell, I hoped that it sucked major ass... Well, but if he thinks we care, it's probably for the best. Ugh! I just want to get out of here already!_ The punk thought.

"The other half was... good. My mother and sister were there, you know? They tried to protect me at least a little bit from his ideas. Until this day I honestly don't understand why mother never divorced him. She hates him as much as I do. She and sis were the only ones who would listen to me, naturally accept my errors and encourage me to be myself, not a copy-paste of my old man."

 _She didn't leave because he's wealthy, isn't it obvious? Most_ _shallow people just_ _want to be rich._ The punk thought, but then decided to keep that to herself. It would just provoke him, and she didn't want that... did she? Instead Chloe asked "Why do you need the two of us anyways. You got the information, just send them to the police yourself already." Max gave an agreeing hum, suggestion that she wanted to know Nathan's answer as well.

"I... can't. My father knows that I'm... rebellious. Once in a while he checks what I do, and who I'm in contact with, and I just couldn't risk my only chance of freedom being destroyed like that. He would probably say that it was just a prank I played on him. He wouldn't need more to defuse such a delicate situation. And anyways, if the police knew that I send those papers, they would first of all think that I faked, if not all of it, at least the part that saves my sis and mom."

That... made sense. At least the blue haired girl thought so, even if she didn't want to admit that anything _this_ guy said was correct. But she did after all know how it felt to life under the same roof with someone who was totally paranoid, and how it felt to be scared of big risks.

 _Nope! Not going there, dude! I won't fucking start empathizing with him. He's human rubbish that's all! I just hope... Max won't either._ Subconsciously her eyes immediately jumped to the smaller girl next to her. The brunette had a face that... couldn't be read. It could be empathy that was shown, but at the same time it could be disgust or even hate. The punk obviously hoped for the later ones.

But before she could think about it more, the hippie raised her neutral voice. "Okay. So we just have to give all of these documents to the police? They'll automatically help your mom and sister?"

He nodded. "Theoretically at least. Just needed to see you two face to face, so that I could judge you."

"Can you?"

He shrugged on that. "You didn't smash my face in, so you two probably _really_ want this to be over with."

On that the punk let out a sinister snort, but kept the joke, that was already on her lips, for herself. "You don't want us to participate in some kind of prescottish dark blood ritual or anything?"

"No... I know you two hate me but you can trust me when I say that I just want to be at peace as well. You're not the only one being terrorized by him. He already tried to get me out of here as well. Would be scandalous if it would be made public that his only son was in a madhouse. Fucking bastard." After that there was a short awkward moment of silence. Everything had been said.

Then Chloe asked, "Okay Nathan. We get it. Can we go now?" The punk wanted to hurry up. Even if she knew that she wouldn't attack him now, the longing inside of her scared her. This was a side of her, not even she knew until now, and she didn't like it at all. She wanted to be in control of her emotions, not swept away by them. Everything needed to be her decision, and shouldn't be changed by her mood.

_This 'new side of mine' made Max cry already. How can I possibly like it I need to fucking stay in control. No bull mode... for now._

"Yeah, I think that's it..." But the rich boy still hesitated. The two girls could see that he had a hard time to let go of the folder, but then in one big push he shoved it over to their side of the table. Max didn't wait a second to grab it and clinch onto it. She then gave Chloe a meaningful look, stood up and marched out. Kind of perplexed Chloe looked at the back of her girlfriend, then to Nathan and then back to her girlfriend.

"You coming, Chloe?"

The blue haired girl didn't need another second to stand up as well. Without saying anything further to Nathan, the two left him sitting alone at white table.

Max waited for her girlfriend at the door, not wanting to leave Chloe and Nathan alone in one room for obvious reasons. Once the punk reached the smaller girl, she grabbed her hand and with the other free one she opened the door, and without turning back once the two girls stepped outside the visiting-room.

"Goodbye, Max and Chloe." The lonely boy whispered as the door was closed. with a voice full of regret of the sins of his past.

* * *

Max dropped on her knees. But before she even realized it herself, the blue haired girl was kneeling next to her with a worried expression on her face.

"You okay?"

"W-We made it... didn't we, Che?"

A small smile appeared on Chloe's lips once she realized it was just the relieve that brought Max on her knees. "I think so. We still need to see if the papers are really what he promises though."

But the smaller girl shook her head on that. "Let's not read them. Let's just go straight to the police, please." She begged. "I don't want anything more to do with this family. Just..."

"It's okay, Maximouse. I'll just check if they're really what he promised. Don't want to be played with after all."

"Hm." The freckled girl gave an agreeing hum.

"But afterwards we go straight to the cops, the sooner the police has it, the better. So, next stop Portland police department then?"

"Thanks..."

"No need to thank me. I nearly messed this up if not for your powers." The blue haired girl said as her gaze sank on the floor, full of guilt. But then a warm hand touched her shoulder and brought her eyes back onto Max's. "I'm really sorry... If you hadn't told me I... I even now I wanted to kill that bastard. I could feel it... It's good that we hasted out of there like we did."

"I'm not angry at you, if that helps."

"A lot." Chloe retorted without hesitating at all.

"He's part of the reason Rachel... I..." For a moment Max seemed miles away. No... It didn't seem like her mind was somewhere else, but _somewhen_. "L-Let's just say I understand you, okay?"

Chloe tried to ignore the short pause in her girlfriend's sentence. "But you shouldn't... It's so unfair that you went through all of this. You deserve better, Max."

"... That's why I have you, don't I, Chloe?"

The freckled girl indulged the face her girlfriend made. Flustered, red cheeks, and jaw dropped slightly open. Sadly, it only stayed like that for a few moments, until the bigger girl regained her composure again. "Aha! You sappy little cutie!" She tried to hide the fact that the compliment hit her right in the hearth, and instead gave the smaller girl a playful nudge, but then she realized that the smaller girl was shacking. She was still terrified wasn't she? So instead of making fun of her anymore, she threw one arm around her back and pulled her into a hug.

After a short while the brunette gently shuffled out of the embrace. "Thanks... Needed that..."

The punk rubbed her neck and explained, "So did I to be honest. L-Let's get the fuck outta here."

"Sounds like a plan." Max agreed, happy that no one saw the two of them sitting on the floor for a good fife minutes or so, and they sat there for a bit longer, Max's legs were still a bit wobbly, but then they stood up, and started moving towards the rusty old truck. The couple said their goodbyes to the info lady as they saw here still standing behind the counter, and when they reached the car Max could feel how suddenly tears started appearing in her blue eyes. She didn't say anything or sniveled at all, so it took Chloe a moment to notice, because she was occupied with starting the not-so-safe-truck, but out of the corner of her eyes she eventually saw her girlfriend tearing up. Her head darted to her right and at first she was a bit dumbfounded, but instead of asking any whys and wherefores she just embraced the smaller girl once more.

With Chloe's first touch came the first sob. Then Max's hands clinched in the punk's back. Max's head was now cuddled against Chloe's collar. The blue haired girl just accepted her girlfriend's sadness, and started gently moving through her brown hair with the hand which wasn't holding her waist. She couldn't she the freckled face, but she could hear the deep and long sigh that came out of Max's mouth.

"... Just... Never stop petting me, okay?"

"Wait. Are you enjoying this, Caulfied?"

"A hot girl is caressing me. Who wouldn't enjoy that?"

"Oh, geez..." Chloe rolled with her eyes, but at the same time a smile appeared on her lips as well. "Good that you're feeling better again. If anything comes up, just tell me though, okay?"

"Promise. As long as you keep caressing me."

But instead of joining Max's attempt to crack a joke the punk stayed surprisingly serious. "I'm still not quite sure if I should feel guilty for something I didn't do... even if I did? Ahh gee, time travel is your specialty, give me some tips already!"

The freckled girl couldn't stop a -in Chloe's opinion- cute giggle to escape her mouth, but then she answered with, "Learn from the mistakes of the future. That's all I can really ask of you really." To stress her point out the brunette raised her shoulders and sank them again after a few seconds.

Then Max could hear a sigh coming out of Chloe's mouth. The two of them were still hugging each other but now the brunette could feel how Chloe's hands made fists into her pullover. Something was going on in that head of hers again.

"I... Why are you so nice to me."

"Because I love you? Duh."

But that wasn't enough to satisfy the punk. "I nearly messed this up, despite knowing how important it is for both of us. I hurt you... Again." Chloe explained. She didn't really expect to let all her worries out like that, but the little hippie had a way of luring every secret out of her. "I'm... just scared that I'll loose you one day, Max. That's why..." The bigger girl whispered against Max's collarbone.

That caught the freckled girl off guard. She wasn't really mad or anything. Everything she cared about was right in her hands. Her tall blue haired childhood friend slash girlfriend. And on top of that they got a folder full of things that would defuse their whole situation with Sean Prescott. Everything was fine, wasn't it? "You caught me Chloe." Max quoted herself. "Nowhere to escape. Nowhere I would want to escape to either. Max Caulfield is right there where she's _satisfield_." She purposely underlined the last word.

It took about five seconds, but then a freeing vibration went through the blue haired girl's body as she started chuckling. She touched Max's forehead with her own one and, still with a smile playing over her lips, she said, "Tsk! This was probably the worst pun you ever made, seriously."

"Hey, I waited for a chance to crack that joke for about three days now!"

"That you even try to remember such an awful pun... You probably noted him somewhere in your journal, didn't you?"

"Maybe?" And after a short pause Max then stated, "I love you Chloe, don't you forget that, okay? Never." There was a glowing in her blue eyes as she stated that, which melted the punk's insides into a gooey mush.

"But..." But she didn't find the strength to phrase the rest of the question, once she saw Max's glare, full of strictness and love. Also there were lips blocking her mouth, so that made speaking quite hard as well. Not that Chloe would complain. A little make out session was probably the best cure for a insecurity attack. On the other hand it felt like she was dissolving away even more. She wanted to. It felt good. Melt together with this little hippie. But she was still scared, deep down.

After they pulled away from each other, Chloe had calmed down as well and tried to apologize. "I... Sometimes I just get hella unsure about myself..."

"Oh, you do? Really? Never noticed it..." The freckled girl tried to sound as shocked as possible, while her hand went to her mouth.

"C'mon, Maximus, what's with all the sassiness?"

"You're just stating things that I love about you."

"You love my insecurity?... Well thanks... I guess?"

"I meant that I love everything about you, dork!" The brunette clarified with a drolly wink.

 _Ugh... What am I supposed to retort here?_ The punk thought while the feeling in her stomach made it nearly impossible to do anything at all. It was too warm and nice, and she didn't want to make a wrong move, scared of the possibility that the warmth might disappear. But then she realized that there was just one thing she could answer with. The only thing fitting for what she was feeling the whole time. The truth.

"I _really_ love you, Max Caulfield."


	34. Fulfilling a promise

"Can't we just go home?"

"Nope. We need to celebrate! Mission documents officially completed!"

"And the best idea you could come up with was _this_?"

"You promised it to me after all, Caulfield."

"Yea... I did..." Max knew when she was beaten. But still... to get her hair colored so... spontaneous, was really unlike her, even if it would be just some strands. But truth be told, she was also kind of excited for. But maybe it was just because Chloe's keenness was somehow contagious? On the other hand, she always wanted to look... different, and maybe a bit red in her hair would be a good first step.

_She's really driving me in my ruin, isn't she? And I love it._

Jenny, the hairstylist Chloe had forced her to go to, was already working on her hair, so there was no going back anyways. Much like Chloe, Jenny had settled on a punk like style. A lot of piercing, a few tattoos on her hands, and mostly black clothes, which gave a nice contrast to her white hair.

"You're going to look so hot! Warren'll be so fucking jealous of me now." The blue haired girl let out an evil laughter, while restlessly sitting on one of the chairs in the salon.

"Ohh, you didn't mention that she was your girl, bulldog." Jenny said with a smile on her lips, that somewhat looked... disappointed?

"Yep. My one and only." She verified.

It was a weird feeling, being boasted with. But if it was Chloe it was more than okay. In fact Max could feel how her ears were suddenly very hot.

"Hmm, shame." The stylist suddenly said, and got a dangerous glare from the bigger girl in return.

"Jenny, don't even think about it." But instead of getting an answer, the white haired woman just winked at Chloe.

"Just fucking with ya. Someone who can keep a leash around your neck is way to hardcore for me anyways."

"I..." Max wasn't prepared for such a conversation. Half her thoughts were still rambling about the fact that they really managed to give those documents to the police, anonymously of course. Maybe that was part of the reason for why she was sitting here right now. But she also knew that even if the papers were legit that it wouldn't mean that their necks were saved now. So many things could still go wrong...

 _Even if Chloe tried to read through most of it, we would need hours before we could truly say that there's not some crusty shit in them. And we don't have the time. Funny when time plays against you, even if you kind of control it... I still feel... caged... I just want to grab my blue haired dork and fly away with her. To somewhere else. Somewhere no one cares. No storms. No Dark Room. Just me and her. Maybe Seattle could really be such a place... Wait. I still have to tell my parents about..._ Max's eyes wandered to her girlfriend and must've been rather intense, because the tall girl nearly immediately reacted to it.

"Sup?"

"N-Nothing. Just wondering why you're so quiet."

"Excitement has muted me."

Upon that the freckled girl just rolled with her eyes. "Dork."

"Okay, lovebirds, I'm gonna start now, you ready Max?"

"Well, you already colored them blonde, so let's go all the way." The not-so-much-brunette said with a shrug.

"Oh, oh, wait!" Chloe suddenly yelled. Both other woman turned their attention on the punk as she said, "I don't want to ruin it, so I'll wait outside. Gonna get us something to munch on. Blast me away with your looks, Caulfield!"

"Sounds like a plan." Max said, while giving her thumbs up.

"Nice, see ya later, jumpy!" The blue haired girl sang as she left the shop.

Now it was just her and Jenny.

 _Gee, this suddenly got kind of awkward._ Max thought as she reminded herself of the flirt just moments ago. _Was she really hitting one me though? Or was it just a joke? Oh, Chloe hurry please..._

"So you and Chloe hm?"

"Y-Yes?"

"She seems happy."

"I hope so?"

"Well yeah I guess you do." Jenny chuckled. Max was really irritated by her. "For a while now... She seemed really bitter. I mean even before all that shit with the teacher and Rachel Amber." That caught the small girl off guard, as her eyes went big in surprise. But Jenny just rolled her eyes. "Don't be so shocked, I got a television at home, you know? Even though all that shit happened, now she seems so... bright again, like when I first met her." The freckled girl couldn't agree more, and even felt somewhat proud. But it surprised her that Jenny knew her so well.

"Jenny, can I ask you how long you and her have been friends?"

"Ha, we've never been more than good acquaintances to be honest. But people open up to the person doing their hair, especially if it's done as good as Chloe's. And I can proudly say that this is one of my strengths."

"The hair or the people part?"

"The people... Wait, both, but I meant the people part..." Realizing that it had been just a joke tshe smiled while shaking her head. "For some reason everyone just trusts me." The white haired woman shrugged. "Anyways, since when do you know each other? She never told me about a cute little girl like you. And trust me she would've bragged with you _a lot_ more if she could've."

"W-Well, we were best friends when we were kids..."

Max got interrupted by a short "Ahhh" Leaving Jenny's mouth.

"... But we lost touch for good five years. She was going through some hard time, and... I just chickenshited out. But once I came back well..."

"Love bloomed? That's freaking cliche to the max." Max made a mental note for that pun. "But that explains why she's so head over heels for you."

"Goes for both of us to be honest."

"Kidding me? She nearly ripped me a new one just five minutes ago, because of my 'indecent' comment. You two must be a scary duo." On that Max chuckled. "Hey, don't move, you want to look good, don't you?"

"Sorry, sorry."

"No worries we're pretty much done anyways. You wanna look at your _reborn_ self?" Jenny asked while already holding a handy mirror in front of the freckled girl. It... didn't look bad. Or at least Max thought it didn't. Her hair was a bit shorter now, just a bit though, and there was a red streak right above her right eye falling nicely in her face. She looked so different at least.

_Now let's see what Che has to say._

Max gave Jenny a few bucks, who suggested to not let Chloe wait for too long. "Who knows what she does when she gets bored?"

Afterwards she made her way outside, where she could already see her girlfriend with a bag, that was probably from some kind of baker, in her hands. Max hoped that there wasn't anything really important in it, because the punk dropped it on the ground when she spotted Max. For a good moment the punk just froze. Max even checked if time stopped again just to be sure, but it didn't. Then she noticed something else.

 _Is she... blushing? Gee, now I'm blushing!_ To loosen up the atmosphere Max tried to raise her voice. "R-Ready for the mosh pi-"

"Oh. My. God." The bigger girl interrupted Max through her yelling, and then grabbed Max's shoulders. She inspected her for another good minute and then concluded, "Could get used to that..." In a dreamy voice.

"Hey, Price, my eyes are down here, not in my hair, okay?"

"S-Sorr... Wait. Shut it dork. You look amazing though! My girlfriend is freaking hot." The blue haired girl raised her fist while letting out an enthusiastic "Fuck yes!"

"What's that supposed to mean? Was my old me not enough?"

Caught off guard Chloe tried to defend herself for the first few seconds. "I-I didn't mean it like that. You were always..." But then she just rolled with her eyes when she saw the dorky smile Max's had on her lips. She decided then that instead of talking to her ' _hot_ ' girlfriend, she could do something much nicer. The freckled girl was prepared when Chloe's mouth kissed her own one. She was prepared for the physical contact at least, but the warmth running down from her lips in every inch of her body was something else. She wasn't prepared for the fire that was lit once the punk's tongue touched her lips. For someone like Max who always tried to be prepared for everything, this was a nice change she could get used to.

But then the punk pulled away, and a longing hum escaped the freckled girl's lips before she could control herself. She opened her eyes and the first thing her body wanted to do when her eyes saw Chloe again, was just to move in and go for another kiss, but she resisted. For now.

"Holy moly... It's nice that you don't care if we do this in public but..." Chloe left her sentence unfinished, but the fluster in her face said enough. Just realizing it as well the smaller girl looked around and saw that they were pretty much the center of attention by now.

 _Whops._ Was the only thing her mind was able to come up with because most of her blood went into her cheeks and ears. But then a hand firmly grabbed her hand, and Chloe pulled her girlfriend off the streets back to where she had parked the rusty truck.

* * *

"I really don't think driving is such a good idea right now."

"Why?"

"Because you're such a dang good distraction that it might be to dangerous."

The brunette let out a snort. "Ha, smooth one, Price."

"My humble thanks for your graciousness." Chloe said as she lowered her head. Then without further ado the punk started the motor. "Despite everything, this was a good day, wasn't it?"

Max nodded in agreement. "We good the papers and gave them to the police, you showed me around town, and I got a pretty cool new haircut. Could be worse."

"So even you think you're hot shit now? Fuck, that means I need to be economically with my compliments, otherwise you could get weird ideas like you being sexier than me."

On that the brunette showed a nasty grin. "So you don't think I'm prettier than you?"

Knowing that it was a trick question the punk hissed a gasp. "You got me nailed on the wall here. Well done... Let's just say if we had a neutral judge I don't think I would loose."

"I don't think I would win either."

One of Chloe's eyebrows quirked up. "Wait. Was that just a compliment?" She asked with a grin all over her face.

"Take it as what you want, dork." But then Max's mood shifted. "Che, do you really think that this could be it? We can finally be free from all of this shit?"

"Dude, don't say stuff like that. If we were in game of thrones we would both get butchered in the next few episodes!"

"You wouldn't need to worry though. If we were living in Westeros you would be some kind of kick ass fighter. No wait, you would be Arya. The older you get the more badass you get."

That comparison let Chloe grin for a moment. "Ahh, yea she's pretty alright. But I would love to be the hound! He's a freaking beast!" Max just chuckled on that.

"You're to witty to be him. Also you've got a pretty face. He's on the other hand is always grumpy, which you don't tend to be... At least most of the times."

"Hmmm, Good point. Eh,and you would be..." It looked like she needed a moment but then she gave herself a facepalm. "Obviously you would be Daenerys!"

That surprised the brunette. She turned her face towards her girlfriend, before she had looked outside the window like always, and gave her a questioning expression. "The Dragon queen?"

"The one and only. Look before you even ask, I have thought this through. She starts of pretty weak and insecure, but then she gets freaking powerful and badass. Reminds you of someone? Oh and also she's pretty gorgeous."

"Is she now?"

"Ahh, c'mon as if I'm the only one who thinks that..." But as she didn't get an answer from Max her eyes moved over to hers, but they just stayed for a moment before jumping back on the road. "Wait. You never thought about it? Being..."

"Gay? Nope. I love you though. It's pretty weird, but before you I always thought... that... I don't know, I'm straight? Never was really interested in any boy but it also never crossed my mind that I'm homosexual."

"So I'm your first..."

"Love? Yep." The brunette confirmed with a bright smile on her face.

"Whoa." The punk was baffled for a moment. But then tried to regain some composure. "You really know how to make your girl feel special."

"You _are_ special. No need for me to do anything."

On that the driving girl scoffed. "You're on a roll today, Caulfield."

"Yep, because you make it so dang easy to compliment you."

* * *

Home, sweet home. Laying, all fours stretched out, on Chloe's bed nearly felt unreal for Max. This had been one long day for the couple, and just now the exhaustion was kicking in. She could feel how she slowly sank deeper and deeper into the mattress, as if she was lying on quicksand. Comfortable, like Chloe smelling, quicksand. She didn't even care about keeping her eyes open. Then she could feel how something, or someone, else slowly crawled onto the bed as well. It came closer. And closer. And then a voice, sweet as honey, whispered into her ear, "I really need to pee."

"... What?" Max asked after a few moments, as she opened one of her eyes, looking down on a dangerously close Chloe who had a dorky smile all over her face.

"Dude, I was holding it since we came from the clinic."

Max didn't even bother to hide her disappointment. "You could've at least tried!"

"Naa, you know I'm the hardcore punk, not the sappy type. Also I didn't want to take the risk of you falling asleep while I'm gone."Then with a wink she added, "Now I get to cuddle with you a bit more."

"Uh-huh, all part of your plan." The brunette quipped back, words dripping with sarcasm.

The punk just giggled, jumped off the bed and left the room.

It took a moment but then the freckled girl started to appreciate the silence that was lingering over the room now. It was already dark outside, but of course Max had a small lamp to enlighten the whole room faintly. Even with Chloe by her side the dark was still... scary. It should be kind of embarrassing to admit such a childish fear, but the blue haired girl didn't ask any question nor cracked any jokes because of it. She just had accepted it, and for that Max was grateful.

 _She's such a dork..._ The small girl thought, but she also had to admit that Chloe's plan to wake her up had succeeded.

 _The whole thing in the mental asylum was sooo weird... I expected to at least have this nurse... -ehm what was her name again? Mrs Gabriels?- sitting with us, but to let us alone with him seems so... unprofessional? The guards were pretty quick to react though. So maybe they were spectating and I just didn't notice? Seems possible, I was nervous as heck after all. And Chloe really punched his face inside out, huh... This was so stupid of her, and I should be angry... No I should be_ _raging because of it!... But I'm not._ The brunette shrugged to herself. _It's probably because I can relate to her. And because I can't stay angry with my dork for too long._

Nope, she wouldn't sleep now. Once the gears in her head started moving, she could feel how all the sleepiness slowly left her body. Max wouldn't mind that as much as she did if she didn't know that some rather unpleasant thoughts would linger over her for the rest of the night as well.

 _Tomorrow is Friday..._ A cold shiver ran down her spine. _I really have no idea what'll happen tomorrow. At least last week I knew what was coming, but this time... And even if Sean Prescott pops up, I shouldn't sign it, the papers are probably being looked at right now so... But on the other hand such an investigation could take months before it bears any_ _fruits_... _That could seriously mean that we might still suffer the consequences of me not signing... Fucking hell... I just hope that Nathan's folder really does its job._

She could feel the urge, to ask her girlfriend what was in the papers, slowly grow inside of her. Unusual for her nosy self she hadn't asked Chloe up till now about the documents. She didn't want any details. She just wanted an end to all of this _._

As if the universe wanted to give her an answer, Chloe came back from her... Journey. The tall girl undressed and threw her jeans aside and was now crawling -once against- next to her girlfriend. She nestled her face onto Max's shoulder and let out a pleased sigh as she found the most comfortable position. One leg entangled with her girlfriend's, the punk then winded one arm around her hip and pulled her closer to herself. Then Max took the blanket and pulled it over the two of them so that they would have it nice and warm. It was October after all.

"Just... never move again okay? This is absolute bliss." The blue haired girl just spook her mind, and Max could feel her hot breath against her throat. It was a mesmerizing sensation which the smaller girl couldn't nor wanted to escape from. Instead she opened her eyes and observed the tuft of blue right in front of her. Somehow triggering her girlfriend senses, Chloe turned her head to face the girl she was pretty much resting on, chin laying on her shoulder now. Their faces were closer than probably either of them had realized up till then, but after the first surprise followed pleased smiles.

"Hey there." Chloe whispered with a somewhat seductive undertone in her voice.

 _Her breath smells like toothpaste_.

Instead of giving an answer the smaller girl used the hand, which was attached to the arm Chloe was laying on, to start making circular motions on the punk's back. The reaction, in form of the grip around her waist getting tighter, came immediately. A long sigh followed. "Getting coddled is unfair, Caulfield." She said with a nearly non existing voice. "I'll fall asleep before I realize it."

"You notice it when you fall asleep?"

"Noo. That's the point!"

 _Looks like her brain is fried thanks to the comfyness._ Max didn't mind though, It was pretty much the opposite of that. This was the favorite time of the day for both of them. Not just because of all the cuddling, okay yes it played a big role in it, but also because they didn't need to have anything on their mind at all. All the worries and headaches were just washed away as soon as the two of them had snuggled up next -or _on-_ to one another.

What the cuddling ignited on the other hand was a nice and warm fire inside Max's belly. Sometimes it was so strong she feared to be swept away by it... Sometimes she also _hoped_ to be swept away. The source of the fire was obvious for the freckled girl. After all was every part of her body, Chloe touched, getting suddenly extremely sensitive. Especially the hand on her hip felt like it could sink into the Pudding, that was Max's stomach, any second. But it wasn't enough. The vortex that was pulling her towards Chloe wasn't pleased yet. The brunette was getting greedy, wanting to kindle the flame to be even bigger, even hotter.

The punk could feel how Max's body started to move again. "H-Hey, what did I say about the moving?" But then there were already lips crashing into her own ones. The bigger girl shrieked thanks to being caught off guard, but then yielded and indulged in the kiss. She knew that Max's hand was doing dangerous things right now, but honestly speaking she didn't care at all. The little sparks on her spine felt too good to even think about asking her girlfriend about moving her hand out of her t-shirt. Even if she wanted to stop Max's assault, she didn't have any free hand at the moment to do so, because both of them were deep inside of Max's newly colored hair. In a short moment in which both of them pulled away from each other to breathe she then stated with a smug smile, "It was a good idea to keep you awake for a bit longer." But the smaller girl didn't even bother to answer and instead went on to nibble on Chloe's lips again.

But then few moments later Max pulled her face away again, and couldn't quite make out if the sound that came out of Chloe's open mouth really was a purr. Ignoring that, she suggested with a breathless voice that, "We should stop here, Che."

The bigger girl blinked a few times before she realized that she had somehow moved between Max's legs, and was now completely bent over her girlfriend. It was like waking up out of a trance.

 _More like a wonderful_ _dream!_ The punk thought, but then quickly said "Yea, y-you're ehm... right?" It didn't sound convincing, simply because Chloe wasn't convinced herself. But she had promised that their first time would be absolutely fantastic, something special they would never forget in their life. Still out of breath the punk then plopped herself next to her girlfriend, and despite being somewhat disappointed in herself she couldn't stop her mouth from stupidly smiling until she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> This chapter should be titled "Fluff trash" but regardless of that I think the two of them have earned it for now :3
> 
> And YES I know that I'm being pretty mean to hold the two of them back so much, I'll probably enlighten some of my reasoning behind it soon. ^^'


	35. Time is running...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been some times since I updated... . December is just not my month. A lot of annoying stuff is going on every year. Sorry for the delay, but at least this chapter is a bit longer than average :3

Yet another nightmare. Max was standing atop of the cliff right next to the lighthouse. How she knew that it was a nightmare? There was actually nothing she could point a finger at and say "That's the reason!" She just... did know that it was one. At least there was no gigantic storm murdering everyone in the town under her. It actually seemed like a pretty nice day.

There was just one thing bothering her. For some reason there was this key in her hands. This plain and normal key, they had found when they searched for the homeless woman, was in her hands, and despite all her efforts she couldn't get rid of it.

Throwing it off the cliff or in the forest behind her would just cause the key to appear in her hands again, like it never ever went flying through the air. Digging a hole and burying it in it, didn't work either, for the exact same reason.

What else could see do? She could try to eat it, but would that really mean that she got rid of it, or that it would be a part of her for all eternity? Why was this fucking key so pushy?

Right then she blinked a few times as she realized something. She frowned as she thought _Why do I even want to get it away from me? It's just a stupid key, isn't it? Why do I get so worked up over a trashy piece of metal?_

So instead of following her inner gut, which she would regret just moments later, she looked at the key once more. Now seeing it again there were 4 numbers engraved on it. She hadn't noticed that before. _Strange..._

"9-4-12" For some reason her dream self decided to read the numbers out loud, hoping for something to happen. She looked around herself, but no apocalyptic storm, no savage animal attack and no U.F.O. landing. Just a weird feeling in her hand.

_Wait, a weird feeling in my hand?_

The sleeping girl brought her hand into her field of view and observed how the key clunky morphed into a living snake, made out of iron. The weird creature twisted herself around her hand, but slowly made her way up towards her whole arm. In a wave of panic she tried to get rid of the strange animal -or whatever it was Max was seeing- immediately, but shaking the arm, was proving rather ineffectual, because the grip around her lower arm would just get stronger the more she struggled against the snake.

Then another wave of hysteria overcame the brunette and she slammed the creature's head against the ground while her eyes started watering. There was a _**clunk**_ , but aside from that nothing had come out of her attempt to damage the attacker. Max's heartbeat was hammering against her chest, and she could feel how her breathing got irregular, but in her panic she couldn't give up. Her fingers dug into the metallic skin, and she tried to rip the animal away from her, but the snake proved to be not just robust but also extremely strong.

Then it started to move its head. Fairly slow, but it frightened the freckled girl nonetheless.

_It'll bite me. I'll bite me. It'll..._

As its slender head reached the girl's face, it stared with its emerald-green reptilian pupils deep into Max's own eyes, opened its mouth just to show its silvery split tongue and created a hissing noise. As a reaction Max winced and jerked her face away from the creature, as she kept her eyes shut out of fear. She could still feel it moving, but the anxiety had paralyzed her by now, and she was just waiting for the immutable pain that would soon overcome her.

She felt how something touched the hair right behind her ear and she almost wanted to punch in that direction, but also knew that it would prove meaningless against the iron body.

Despite everything she expected to happen, she did not expect to hear an icy voice hissing into her ear.

_"Gave... You... Powersss... Not... A... Patient... Fellow..._ _**Find me.** _ _"_

Max's upper body jerked up, noticing far too late that Chloe's head had rested on her shoulder. Being thrown around, the punk obviously woke up as well, blinked a few times in confusion but then orientated herself again. She sat up, and frowned as she saw her girlfriend's face. The smaller girl was sweating, her eyes were red and her body was shaking.

 _One of those nights again, huh..._ The punk thought, while not hesitating to wind her arms around Max's body to pull her into a comforting hug.

A good while, after the shaking had stopped, the bigger girl whispered into Max's ear, "Nightmare?"

Max's could feel her girlfriends breathe against her hair, because her face was nestled into Chloe's neck. The sensation somehow awoke her memories of the dream once more, but she ignored the immediate feeling of danger. "I... I seriously don't know what it was..."

The punk hesitated to ask this but still did anyways, because she needed to know how serious the situation was. "Was it about the Dark Room?"

"N-No!" Hearing this, calmed the blue haired girl somewhat, but she kept quiet and let Max speak. "It was... It feels so stupid to say it out loud, but do you remember the key that we found behind Two Whales?"

For a moment the punk's eyebrow quirked up. "Yep, 'course I do."

"Well, I was on **that** cliff and it... transformed into a snake and started talking to me." Max told her somewhat embarrassed.

"Damn, don't tell me you ate the apple, Maximouse."

"Duh, that would be too obvious nowadays." Max quipped back while a smile appeared on her face, though Chloe couldn't see it because the small girl hadn't moved an inch away from the comfortable neck she was cuddling. "Weirdly enough it didn't ask me for any biblical sin, but instead it wanted me to find it... I think."

"Find it? Okay, that's not disturbing at all."

"Right? No seriously, the dream felt so real... and yet it didn't."

There was a short pause before the blue haired girl spoke again. "Kinda... had those dreams for some time as well. Not about weird ass snakes but…" She awkwardly rubbed the back of her head.

"I think I get it. Sometimes they feel like you're really in them. Like... in real?... Uhh, sorry, still sleepy."

Max didn't ask what her dreams were about. After all she knew the answer already. Although she was wondering if Chloe maybe still had them sometimes, she didn't ask that either, simply because it would bring back bad memories, so instead she just said, "Sleepy? I didn't notice any difference until you pointed it out."

"So funny, Caulfield."

"Oh, thanks."

"That was sarcasm." The punk retorted, but then half sighed half chuckled. "But don't worry, I don't have them anymore. The dreams I mean."

"Uh, I didn't mean to..." For a moment Max was caught off guard, as she had underestimated just how well Chloe could read her sometimes. "... That's good. But if there should be a time in which you ever have them again, just know that there's a punk-Padawan, you can rely on."

"Punk-Padawan? Hah!" The blue haired girl let out a heartily chuckle. "That's a good one." The bigger girl said while laying herself on the bed again. Her eyes glimpsed at the clock next to her bed and she saw that it was still far too early to get up for either of them, so she just patted the empty space next to her and gave her girlfriend a suggestive look.

"I guess getting some more shut-eye wouldn't hurt, it's not like I'll go to school today anyways…" Chloe wanted to agree but she stopped at the sight of her girlfriend. It seemed like Max's mind wasn't there anymore, eyes staring into nothingness. For a moment she seemed so… empty. "Today is the day, Che. He will come today..."

The punk pressed her lips against each other and shook her head. "Getting all torn up because of it before Sean Prescott even arrives is just not worth it. We did what we could, and if that is not enough you can always rewind, right?" The punk answered so casually that it frightened Max to the core. She knew that Chloe just tried to cheer her up, but the idea of her going back a whole week again... To lose everything she and Chloe had done up until now again... Her stomach didn't give any warning before cramping painfully. She didn't have the power to do all of this over and over again. She did it once, and it worked miraculously, but risking everything? Again? She still hadn't figured out her powers one bit up till now, so how could she stay calm upon the thought of using the rewind to this extent again?

"Wh... What if something goes wrong, Chlo? I don't... I don't want to..." The shaky girl slung her arms around herself, but she just couldn't stop her train of thoughts anymore. Images of past events flashed before her eyes. Images she wanted to forget forever, and she damned herself for not letting go of them. With a nearly not hearable voice she asked, "What if I end up with **him** again... I don't want to go back there... could lose you again..."

The brunette hugged her knees and rolled herself into a small ball and just tried to shut everything else out. But then, before the inner pain could really get to her, two strong hands easily scurried through her defense, grabbed her freckled cheeks, and pulled her into a kiss. Just a short one, but afterwards Chloe's mesmerizing face was right in front of her and the blue in her eyes emitted such comforting love that Max couldn't possibly look away from them.

"It's okay, Maxy. It was a stupid thing to say, really. If you don't want to, don't do it. As simple as that. Sorry to bring it up." Guilt was lingering in the punk's voice.

"B-But everything'll-"

"Nothing will! I'll still love you." Chloe interrupted her with such a firm yet soothing voice that the smaller girl believed her. She just needed those few words and Max believed her. It was like Chloe was a magician who just snapped with her fingers, and everything was good again. Well it wasn't, and Max was painfully aware of that fact, but she did calm immensely after being reassured by her girlfriend.

"T-Thanks, Che... I... love you too."

"And here I thought you just wanted to brag at school that you have a hot girlfriend. Count me surprised." For that the bigger girl got shoved against the shoulder. "Resorting to violence, eh? Just moments after stating that you love me. Not very believable."

"There's just no cure for dorkiness."

"Who would want that anyways, am I right?" The two girls just stared at each other for some more time in silence. Even after trying to lighten the mood with joking around, bot girls still felt the heavy burden on their shoulders, and the shackles of fear in their legs. There would be no escaping from that until everything was -for better or worse- resolved. But for now the couple would get some more sleep.

"Dude, there's really no need to hide inside my room, y'know?"

"I already skipped so many days in school, and I don't want your mom to think that I'm some kind of bad influence on you!"

Chloe couldn't hold the snort back. "You? Bad? You've really no idea what she had to deal with for the last years, do you?"

"Well..." Even if she never had gotten the details, she could guess that Chloe and Joyce had a rough past. "But that doesn't mean that I need to add on those things."

"But... down there is food Max." An image of the blue haired girl drooling popped up in Max's mind.

"You should show yourself anyways, so that Joyce doesn't get suspicious and decides to check up on you. I on the other hand will just stay here for the morning until she goes. With everything that'll happen today I'm not hungry anyways."

Then the freckled girl noticed something change in Chloe's composure. She started fiddling with her own fingers and her mouth got very small. There was something bugging her.

"I don't want to leave you alone up here, Jumpy."

Max looked up at her girlfriend with a questioning expression. "Are you mushy again?"

"More like worried."

"I'm fine, mushy-Chlo-Chlo."

"Ugh..." The punk rolled her eyes at the nickname, but her face still displayed the same concern it did moments ago. Without needing to phrase the question, Max understood it.

But instead of giving a proper answer, Max actually tried to stare the bigger girl down... It just took a short amount of time -She expected to hold out longer than she did- until she surrendered. "Okay, I'm not. Not at all." The brunette confessed as her eyes met the floor.

"See? How can I leave you here alone? Even if it's just for a short amount of time, I don't want you to feel bad. Ever."

"And I don't want you to starve."

"I won't die from not having breakfast, Maxy."

Still sitting on the bed, the small girl just shrugged. She didn't want to say that she the blue haired girl was right. She didn't want to let Chloe out of her eyes for more than mere seconds today. She needed her more than anything else. The punk had become the center in Max's life. She had become the pillar she could lean against. She had become the fire in the dark, that would always keep her warm.

The thought of something tearing them apart was like a whirlwind causing havoc inside of the brunette. But Chloe still needed to go down. Joyce shouldn't have to worry about all of this. For now at least.

Max could suddenly feel how her hand was being carefully squeezed, and just then realized that the blue haired girl had sat herself next to her on the big bed.

"Max, stop doing this again. You should really try to chillax Max. We're gonna watch some movies on my laptop when I come back okay? That'll distract you." The punk stood up and made her first steps towards the door.

"S-Sure." She just couldn't wrap her head around it. How could Chloe stay so calm. Or maybe she just tried to act like it because of how the brunette was feeling? Before her girlfriend could leave the room, Max decided to just ask her, instead of pondering over it in her head. "How can you be so... chill, Che?"

"Me?" She rhetorically asked as she turned around. "Hmm..." She needed a moment to come up with an honest answer. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"What? Didn't you-"

"Max. You asked me, so please play along, okay?"

The brunette was getting impatient, but decided to play along for now. "... I get expelled and Joyce looses her job."

"Yep."

"Yep?"

"Yep. You'll go to another school. Joyce will find a new job." The big girl shrugged. "Of course that would suck major ass, not going to question that. But both you and me too, we've been through worse to give up now."

"You seem so certain about all of this..." The brunette retorted while biting her lips. She didn't want to nag, but did so anyways.

Chloe sighed, noticing that her answer hadn't pleased her girlfriend enough. "Okay, let's just say **if** the worst case scenario really hits us, it won't end us. You still got me, and I still got you, so everything is fine, really." Even if she just casually said that she needed Max, it kindled a warmth inside of the brunette's tummy, which moved up towards her face and forced a small shy smile on her lips.

Actually she could see that Chloe was hiding a lot behind her facade, it was quite obvious to be honest, but Max also knew that the punk only did so because she wanted to calm her down, and Chloe wouldn't be able to do that if she started panicking as well.

Instead of arguing with the punk any further, she opened her arms and invited her into an embrace, which the bigger girl obliged to rather quick and with such force that they fell over on the bed behind them. Laying under the blue haired girl, Max's eyes stared upwards trying to find Chloe's blue eyes under the hair that was falling into the punk's face. Thanks to not wearing a beanie at the moment it was quite hard, so she brought both her hands upwards and softly stroked the hair aside until she found them. Her eyes. Her blue beautiful eyes.

The hippie let out a small squeak of anticipation as Chloe slowly descended.

_She's right. As long as I have this, I don't care if I get expelled._

Joyce was cleaning some dishes from last night, she had simply been too exhausted to do it yesterday. The last few days had been rather busy thanks to a wave of new customers checking the diner out, but she didn't really mind, because that didn't just mean more work but also that she would get more tips, and right now she could use all the money she could scrape together.

_It's still only October, but if I don't start saving money, I won't have enough to get my girl something nice for Christmas._

The Price family had never been really religious, but Joyce had always liked the atmosphere around this time of the year. Sitting together as one family... And maybe, just maybe, this Christmas could be the first eve in five years in which they would be one family again.

_And it's all thanks to Maxine coming back into Chloe's life. Well, not everything, I should give my daughter at least some credit, but there's no denial that the little girl has made a huge impact on her once again. I'm just glad that she has a chance of finding happiness for once._

Apropos Chloe, why hadn't the punk come down by now? Normally she would already be here and savagely eat some breakfast. Maybe she should check-

"Hey, mom!" The elder woman could hear her daughter yell from the first floor. "Will be there in a sec!"

"The bacon won't run away, dear." She yelled back, but as soon as she had finished her sentence her daughter landed on the ground with a _**bang**_ , after jumping of the last few steps of the stairs. Today was one of the better days it seemed.

"Heyo, mother." She darted inside the living room, and skillfully grabbed her first slice of the golden roasted bacon with bare hands.

"Manners, honey." Joyce didn't even turn around to see what Chloe did, to know that it was raunchy.

Not surprised by her mother's third eye she just retorted with, "Yeah, yeah... So, what's the plan for today, miss creator?" as she sat herself at the table.

"Well, nothing special, I guess. Going to work in a few. Why do you ask? You didn't plan something I should be worried about, did you now?"

The younger girl rolled with her eyes. "I always do. By now you really should be used to it."

Joyce turned around, so that she could make sure that the punk really was joking. But then something else surprised the blonde woman. She saw that Chloe wasn't actually eating, but instead piled about twice as much as she usually ate, on her plate. That was strange...

"You going to eat upstairs today?"

"Y-Yea. Really wanna watch this new series I just found. Y'know, enjoy my last few days of freedom before my jobs starts at the coffee." Her mother just nodded in response, although she was silently happy for her daughter to finally move on in her life. But she had decided that she wouldn't cheer her on too much, because the will to work had to come from Chloe herself, not from Joyce and not from Max either.

"We still have some pickled cucumbers, right?" The blue haired girl asked from the table. Since when did Chloe eat anything remotely green? Something was off today, but Joyce couldn't quite point the finger at what it was.

"Ah, yes, I think there are some in the fridge." Without further ado the younger girl shifted over to grab them out of the refrigerator. Joyce just watched how her daughter was trying to get through all the stuff in the fridge, still being in her -way too large- shirt in which she slept most of the times. And it was right then that Joyce spotted something weird. She made a step closer towards Chloe just to make sure, but yes, there were a few red marks on her daughters neck.

 _Are those..._ She couldn't stop herself as a huge smile appeared on her lips. _That explains why she has food for two._

Then Chloe's head emerged out of the fridge and saw her mother's face. She frowned at the weird look she was receiving. "W-What? Something on my face?"

"Nope, but on your neck, darling." She winked at the punk, who immediately tried to cover the marks with her hands in panic. Her blue eyes grew big and her mouth formed a big circle. This was probably the first time she had seen her daughter blush to this extent.

"I-I, ehh... Fuck it. It's exactly what it looks like." She raised her hands in surrender.

"Max is in your room, I guess?"

The punk gave an agreeing and yet annoyed huff in response. Chloe was angry at herself for not hiding the freckled girl any better. "Yes..." Then something happened that really surprised the blonde woman. "B-But don't think that she's skipping class. After, um, everything that happened she's allowed to... for a few more days!"

Could it be that her only child thought that she would dislike Max because if this? That would be ridiculous, after all she knew what the brunette was going through right now. But despite all of this she still couldn't say that she liked the idea of Max skipping. "She shouldn't get used to it, or she'll end up like someone else in this house."

"Thanks a lot for the encouragement." Her daughter quipped back while pouting a little bit. Joyce saw right through it though. Chloe wasn't angry or anything, just kinda scared.

 _Why would she need to hide it from me if they have such an understanding reason to not be in school though?_ But Chloe's mother decided to not pry around. "Say hello to her for me, will ya?

"Y-yea, will do. And mom?..." There was a weird pause, which brought Joyce's attention back onto her daughter. This was the second time today that Joyce saw her daughter do something totally out of character. Chloe stood there awkwardly with the plate in one hand and rubbing her neck with the other. Her eyes were staring at ceiling as if she was... embarrassed? "T-Thanks."

"For the encouragement? Any time, darling." Her mother retorted.

"N-No... But for, you know, accepting... me, I guess?" The punk shrugged helplessly. Her mother knew of course what she talking about. It never crossed her mind that Chloe would be homosexual, but now that she knew it she also saw the little signs. A lot had changed in the last few weeks but it seemed like her little girl was still scared of being pushed away by someone close to her. Not that Joyce could blame her for those anxieties, she had been on of the reasons after all. Her little kid felt betrayed after she and David found each other. The blonde woman knew what she had to do right now. Her daughter was in need of some words filled with motherly love. "Didn't I tell you already? I want my family to be happy. That's all there is to it. If a girl can make you feel that way, then that's just the way it is..." Joyce sighed and went through her hair with one of her hands. "I know that I am just the old annoying hag, who always nags at everything you do, and I know that I did hurt you in the past, but despite all of that don't forget that I'll always, **always** love you. With all your flaws. All your problems. You are still my daughter and that'll never change. And just to make sure, you and Max is neither a flaw nor a problem." As she finished her little speech, she could see tears in Chloe's eyes and was kind of touched at that sight.

The blue haired girl made a few quick steps and hugged her mother as tightly as she could manage to with just one arm, because the other one still held on to the plate. Both women felt something, that had grown to be foreign to both of them for a long time. Affection.

As the door swung open Max was startled at first, it took just a few seconds before she realized that it was just her girlfriend who entered though. She calmed down again rather quick, and then noticed that Chloe looked ruffled. She did try to ask what had happened downstairs but just got a vague answer that her mother was being unnecessarily soft, and that Joyce just didn't get what it meant to be a punk for life. The freckled girl didn't get a chance to be nosy though because the blue haired girl placed the plate, that had more than enough food for both of them, on the table right next to the window and pointed towards it with her head while staring at Max.

"That's sweet of you, but I can't get anything down right now."

"Babe, just to make one thing clear, I will force feed you."

"Ugh... Got it." The brunette conceded, stood up from the bed, and took just enough from the plate until Chloe gave a pleased hum.

While the brunette laid herself back onto the bed, it had become her favorite spot because of the strong smell of... well Chloe, said punk took out her laptop and then followed her girlfriend. It didn't take long to decide what they would watch, because neither of them was up to something heavy right now they agreed that "My neighbor Totoro" would be a good choice.

"Just a cute little story about two little girls and a big Cat-dog-bear we all want to cuddle." Was how Chloe described the movie. Today it seemed like it was Max who would be in the role of the pillow, because without anything being said, the bigger girl snuggled against her chest and stayed there through the whole movie. Max didn't complain, even when she felt that her shoulder was getting kind of numb, because it seemed like Chloe was happy with how they were arranged. And for some time the movie managed to do the impossible. It distracted them. Until Max heard someone sobbing it did at least.

"Che, you okay?" She asked full of concern. Now most of her anxieties were coming back as well.

"Y-Yes, it's just that... This is so beautiful."

 _Oh. Chlo is just being mushy again._ The small girl couldn't help but let out a hearty chuckle while rolling with her eyes in amusement.

"W-What? Don't tell me it the music doesn't get to you."

"Well it does but..." She left her sentence unfinished, knowing that the punk would get what she meant.

"Just don't tell anyone I cry while watching those movies." Max could hear her girlfriend say between her arms, while a few sniffs accompanied the grumbling.

Instead of retorting something mean, she just kissed Chloe right at the top of her head, and could still taste the punk's shampoo. "You know, instead of having some fantasy creature I think I'm quite happy that I have you instead. You're pretty fantastic after all."

"Pfft, liar. Nobody can deny such a fluffy cuddly being. Not even you, Caulfield." She didn't see it, but Max could hear the blush in Chloe's voice. She was still weak to compliments.

Then the movie ended.


	36. - And running -

The sun was already starting to set. He would be here any minute now.

Not even Chloe who at first had tried to stay calm for Max's shake, could hide her anxiety any longer. No movies, no junk food and not even cuddling did help a lot. Instead, both of them were just running nervously back and forth through the whole house. Here and there they tried to calm each other down, have a small talk about nothing of importance, or watch something in the TV, but they just couldn't concentrate long enough.

After a few hours -which felt like a lifetime- of doing simply nothing, the couple had become desperate. They decided to just sit down next to the window facing the street in Chloe's room. Like this they would at least know when he arrives.

Tapping with her fingers on the glass Chloe let out a sigh brimming with stress. "Jesus fucking Christ, simply being on standby is killing me! L-Let's play some games, instead of waiting the whole time. It doesn't really matter if he comes now or in a few hours." Chloe argued. But Max just shook her head in response, eyes not once leaving the street next to them.

They stayed rooted next to the window in silence for a bit longer. The impatience denounced everything they could do to be meaningless, and Chloe couldn't stand it any longer. She was getting more and more agitated. One of her legs was jerking up and down at such a high speed that her muscles were starting to hurt. She also couldn't keep staring at the street forever, so what she did instead was eyeing her girlfriend next to her instead.

Max was biting her own lip again, as a sign of her nervousness, but the rest of the small body seemed almost… frozen. Aside from her chest moving with each passing breath, and the blinking of her eyelids, she didn't move, say, or do anything.

 _She's doing the hedgehog again._ Chloe noticed. She then tugged Max's shirt to momentarily gain her attention. "Hey Maxy, let's move the fuck away from the window, kay? Play some games or whatever you want to do." The punk just wanted to escape the feeling over powerlessness.

"Can't we just wait, Chlo? We can play games whenever." The brunette tried to brush away the hand holding onto her, but the bigger girl didn't let go. She did the opposite as a matter of fact. She pulled stronger, not wanting to see Max in such a vulnerable state any longer. For some reason she thought getting her small girlfriend away from the window would help with that. But the effect Chloe had wished for didn't occur.

"I said no, Che." Max repeated herself, now with a sharper voice than before. Chloe got it, she really did, but her stubborn self wouldn't accept it.

 _If she just got away from the damn window, we could try to do something else._ Somewhere in her mind she already knew it would change nothing, but she couldn't just watch either.

"What do you think about us cooking something? We haven't eaten since breakfast after all."

"I'm good."

"No you're not." Chloe shot back, her frustration growing bigger and bigger. "Come on get up." The punk grabbed Max under one of her arms and tried to pull her up but was met with resistance.

"I told you to stop Chloe!"

"I fucking won't! Get up already."

_Just get away from the window, Max. It's tearing you apart. Nothing good will come from us waiting for the asshole to pop up._

But before she could speak her mind, the freckled girl tried to jerk her arm away, but wasn't able to free herself from Chloe's grasp.

"What's your problem? I told you I'm alright." Max spat in annoyance, glaring at her girlfriend.

"My problem is **you** isolating yourself again."

The brunette frowned after hearing that. Rolling with her eyes in annoyance, she retorted, "You know exactly why I'm feeling like shit right now. I'm not fucking isolating myself." The obvious truth. Max was suffering.

The bigger girl turned her face away as she huffed angrily. It hurt Chloe, but she knew why Max was being so defensive. She understood that the freckled girl just cared about all of this too much. The city. Her friends. Chloe herself. In of itself that would be awesome, and yet it was tearing the punk apart.

She knew that her girlfriend was strong, stronger than most people would ever notice. She had been through so much and yet she was standing here, fighting for someone like Chloe. But the fact that Max was so amazing still terrified the bluenette.

Without noticing it herself the grip got tighter, slightly hurting Max.

_She doesn't need me. She wants me, and that's great, but she doesn't need me…._

The thought always haunted the blue haired girl, but right now it was worse than ever. "I can't stand seeing you in such a miserable state, babe!" She confessed, with an unwanted yet harsh undertone lingering in her voice.

"What the heck do you want me to be then?" Max asked, while trying to hide just how frustrated and angry she was.

"I want you to be happy, you idiot!"

"But I can't just lie to myself like you do!" For a moment longer she had fire in her eyes, but then Max looked just as surprised that those words had left her mouth. Chloe's eyes narrowed while staring in disbelief at the girl in front of her. She shook her head and with a voice, sharp enough to cut Max's heart, the blue haired girl spat a "Whatever!" out and immediately left the room.

She felt stupid for so many reasons. Running away, slamming the door as loud as she did, not properly talking with Max or for being as pushy as she was. There was enough she could choose from, and yet she didn't turn back and apologize. What the freckled girl had just said was uncalled for.

While going downstairs, she just wanted to scream at everything. Everything was just so… so hella unfair. Suddenly the whole house felt way too small too, like the walls were coming closer and closer, threatening to smush her.

_I just want to help you… Can't you see that?_

Now, it wasn't just Sean Prescott that was about to fuck up their lives, but they were fighting as well.

 _Good work, Chloe. You saw how irritated she was and yet you kept pushing her._ She scolded herself. Not knowing if she should be angry at herself or Max. She could feel how the confusion started to stifle her. The sour feeling in her stomach didn't help either.

 _How can she be so mean when I just tried to fucking help?_ Chloe repeated the same thought over and over, getting angrier each time.

_Acting like it doesn't bother me. Course it does! This is about the two women I love more than anything. How can it_ _**not** _ _bother me?_

Still standing at the staircases, the angry girl punched the wall next to her, and a sting of pain shot through her whole hand in return. "Fuck!"

But before she had time for an emotional breakdown -which was about to occur- Chloe heard her name being called from upstairs.

It took mere seconds before the punk was in front of her door again, nearly slamming it into Max's face as she opened it. For one more moment she was disappointed in herself for running back to her girlfriend so quickly, but all those feelings were extinguished as soon as she looked in Max's blue eyes. There was no resistance against the color of life.

The brunette grimaced a face oozing with guilty, probably about her choice of words. Eyes meeting the ground, she gulped before saying, "I'm sorry… I'm not myself right now." Then, she mumbled something about that not being an excuse, but Chloe didn't care about that so she just overheard it. She was simply happy that her Max was back.

Winding her arms around the freckled girl, Chloe gently kissed her forehead. "I just want you to be here with me, y'know?"

"Course I know…" The smaller girl exhaled as she nestled against the punk's collar. "You don't lie to yourself Che, you just wanted to comfort me." And after a deep sigh she confessed, "I feel like shit for saying that."

"You should. It was pretty mean after all." But then Chloe shuffled the brownish hair of her girlfriend with one of her hands. She just couldn't bring herself to be angry with the small girl. Not for something as trivial as this.

"H-Hey, listen, Che. I had this weird idea pop into my head just now."

"I'm always up for weird. Is it the kinky kind of weird? Not saying that I mind, just wanting to be prepared." Yep, there it was again. The small smile playing on the tip of Max's lips, Chloe loved so much.

But even though she was amused by the quip, the freckled girl ignored the last comment.

"Let's run away." She finally brought out after a pause, lips small and serious again. Her blue eyes were focused, observing every kind of reaction the punk would give her.

Chloe knew that she meant it.

_Running away with Max… Sounds like a dream come true, doesn't it? Me and Rachel always wanted to leave this shithole._

A sudden pain in her chest confused Chloe. _Rachel…_ The last few weeks had mostly been filled with Max, but she never really thought about… _**this**_. Was it okay for her to love Max? Did she even deserve the happiness Max was giving her?

 _Ugh, just shut up head!_ She wanted to smack her own mind. There was no time to get lost with thoughts she would rather not think.

After a short while of rambling about it in her head she finally answered with, "Where would we go?"

"I don't know."

"Okay… What would we do?"

"I don't know that either."

"What about our parents?"

"Chloe, I have no idea what I would tell them. I just know that I want to be with you. Be free with you."

Those words nearly swept her off her feet. It wasn't just their meaning, but also the way the freckled girl said it. She was so small, so fragile, and yet sometimes she was filled with this intense confidence.

Could they really… But what about school, their friends and… their future? The punk found herself trapped in the same web from which her girlfriend had been struggling to escape from the past two weeks.

"We… We can't."

A small sad smile flickered over Max's lips, eyes falling to the ground again. Just for a moment though. "Yeah, I thought so as well."

"You're disappointed." It wasn't a question. Chloe simply stated the obvious.

"What? N-No, you are right, it was just a stupid idea. An egoistic one on top of it." The brunette waved with her hand as if she could fan away her emotions. "I mean you have a job starting next week, and I still need to go to school. And there also Joyce and-"

The lump in Max's throat stopped her from rambling on as the blue haired girl grabbed her small hands carefully, as if they could break from too much pressure. Their blue eyes locked with one another. Their faces were close enough that their noses were about to touch. The freckled girl could feel the farm breathe on her skin as Chloe said, "This was the nicest thing someone has ever said to me." Not giving her girlfriend any time to answer, Chloe moved in. Their lips touched, and just seconds later their tongues started to fence fiercely with one another. Feeling so warm and fuzzy was a first today for both of them. They didn't need to think over anything at the moment.

There was no need to think because they simply knew that this was right.

A sudden rumbling interrupted their kiss. Their faces departed and after a short moment of catching air Max said "Well, kissing you is making me hungry." while still having a shade of red on her cheeks.

Chloe let out a hearty chuckle. "Wanna go down and cook something? I'll even do the dishes."

"Wowser. That's a first."

"Fuck you, Caulfield. I ain't that lazy. Not always at least."

"Uh-huh." Max quickly left the room, not giving her girlfriend a chance to retort anything.

"Hey, get your bony ass back here! This is not over!" She yelled after her, though the only answer Chloe heard was a sassy laughter.

The blue haired girl reached the kitchen just shortly after her smaller counterpart. There she found Max playing with one of her new pink locks -which were still mesmerizing if one asked Chloe-.

A wicked grin played over Max's lips as she said, "We love you with all your flaws."

"You're talking like you're miss perfect. Nuh-uh. You got your own demons, Caulfield."

"Which are?..."

"W-Well… Your eyebrows are hella fluffy!" The punk explained while pointing at said brows.

Max made a grimace in return. "Don't speak ill of them. They are all I have."

"Well, then you should think twice about calling me mean things next time."

"But you are lazy, though."

"Course I am. Doesn't mean you're allowed to say it out loud." Chloe shrugged while opening the refrigerator.

The freckled girl sat herself on the counter while asking, "So, you try to silence all critics?"

The punk mumbled a "Hell yes." While finding out that they still had some leftovers, which she brought out. Potato tortillas. A poor man's food, but it was still tasty.

She then turned towards the smaller girl. "There are no critics." Chloe boldly stated while taking out enough tableware for the both of them.

"There's me for starters." Max argued.

"You're not criticizing me. You love me. With all my flaws, was how you said it."

"Fair point." The freckled girl accepted her defeat while digging into the plate right in front of her.

This day had been a roller coaster of emotions for the two of them that's why right now the couple was content with eating in a comfortable silence. Here and there they looked up to see how the other was doing, but their main focus was to extinguish their hunger. At least it was until Chloe asked, "Still not up to some games?"

"Why the fuck not." Max shrugged, now way more relaxed than just a few minutes ago.

So, instead of wasting their time doing nothing, they moved over to the couch. Chloe swung herself over the backrest and landed with a bump on her bottom, took the controller in her hands and started the console. Max didn't get the chance to ask what they would play because the Mario Kart logo popped up after a few seconds.

"Mario Kart? You sure about this, Che? You're a pretty sour loser." Max asked while sitting herself next to Chloe. The punk simply retorted with a "Hmpf." but wasn't quite able to hide the grin on her face. Her girlfriend was able to be sassy again. She hoped this meant Max was feeling better.

"Pick whoever you want. Mom told me to be generous to guests."

"Uh-huh. Okay let's see… Dry bones for me. Bony ass, right?"

"Oh, really? I've called you worse things than that."

"True. You badmouthed my brows. I won't forget that."

Chloe selected Daisy while snickering.

"Whoa. That comes with a surprise. A true princess at heart, aren't you?"

"Daisy is a classy punk rock princess." The punk playfully hissed while narrowing her eyes. But as she only heard snicker directed in her direction she stated, "We'll see who laughs last, Caulfield.

"Duh." The freckled girl quipped back while putting on a smug smile.

It was a fierce battle, people would write songs about in the future. Well, maybe not. But shells were shot. Bananas were thrown. Shortcuts were used. All of this under constant cursing and jumping around. Many "How?!" and "Fuck?!" later they were about to start the last round. It was actually pretty close.

"Are you cereal? Didn't you say I'm the nerd. Why are you so good at this game?"

"Everyone loves games, jumpy. Now, instead of complaining, you should get ready." Chloe retorted. But the freckled girl didn't get a chance for that. Despite what she said before, the punk had decided to take no risks. She surprised the small girl and threw her controller on the chair next to her.

"For fucks sake, Chloe!"

"Ha, easy. I won."

"You hella didn't!"

"Well, the screen says-"

"I don't care. You cheated, you meanie. You suck."

"Aww, is poor Maxybaby pouting now." Chloe couldn't stop herself from teasing, a pursed smile on her lips.

"Hmpf. I would've won this." The small girl pouted while crossing her arms before her, legs pulling up to her chest. In annoyance she turned her face away.

"Well, anyways, the winning _prize_ goes to Price."

The freckled girl ignored the pun while saying, "Hold on, we never said there would be a prize."

"It's simple, really. The winner takes it all."

Max furrowed. "All?" Her eyes moved back to Chloe, but closed themselves again just a moment later, as her girlfriend's tender lips kissed her. For the first few seconds she was taken by surprise, nearly losing her balance and falling over, but two hands grabbed her from behind and carefully brought her back onto the couch. Just then the freckled girl noticed Chloe was bending over her knees, so to make it more comfortable for her she moved them behind the punk, pushing Chloe a bit more towards her.

There was a short break, so that they could inhale some oxygen, and adjust their bodies. The blue haired girl was laying between Max's legs, and as she looked down at her flustered girlfriend who was biting her lip -in excitement this time- she found it hard to resist. So, _**so**_ hard. Before she could continue this train of thoughts her face was grabbed and pulled back down.

_Can't…. Think…. Feels… Too… good._

Her head was in this warm and comfy bubble, and nothing seemed to work in there anymore. It was almost like Max was a force of nature, nothing could defend against. A rage of fire was unleashing itself on her face. A thunderstorm went through her stomach.

She needed more.

She wanted more.

And she knew so did Max.

David stared at them in horror.

"Fuck!" The punk screamed, her heart nearly burst out of her rib cage as she jumped backwards away from the girl under her. With an "Uff." she landed on the floor.

"That's what I should say!" The veteran yelled back. "God, that's something I should've never seen! Ever!"

He couldn't actually see Max thanks the backrest, but his imagination did work quite well. David also couldn't see the brunette's amused grin, for which she got a pissed glare from Chloe. It could pretty much be translated in: _This is not funny._

"Hey Mr Madsen." She chirped, not moving an inch from the sofa.

David had already left the entrance, fleeing into the safety of his garage. He still somehow heard her though. "H-Hey…" A halfhearted answer that let the freckled girl giggle.

"This… This was the most awkward situation I've ever been in." The punk stated loudly.

A faint "Me too." Came out of the garage before the door was finally closed.

"You can't deny that your legal guardians have the perfect _interrupting-timing_ , ever." But as she didn't get an answer from the blue haired girl her eyes wandered back to Chloe. There Max noticed the conflicted expression on Chloe's face and patted her back as she raised herself up from the sofa. "C'mon, you have to admit, it is kind of funny."

"T-That's not it."

"But?"

"But… What is he doing here, Max?

It took a moment but then it clicked. The freckled girl jumped up, hectically fiddled her handy out of her pocket and checked the time.

**8.04**

Where was he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> I got this done quicker than I expected. Had a lot of time over the holidays, never was one to celebrate holidays anyways.


	37. - And never stops

Max woke up in a room inked in a golden red. The American flag hanging over the window did a good job colorizing the whole room.

Weariness still in her limbs, she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, while letting out a small yawn. She had actually managed to get some sleep. Today of all days. She blamed her girlfriend's comfyness for it.

Of course there had been nightmares haunting her again, but feeling two arms, slung around her waist from behind, pressing Max's back against Chloe, she couldn't even remember them. The brunette tried to turn herself so that she could face her girlfriend, but there was no escape from the claws of Cuddle-Chlo. She would just have to accept the comforting warmth oozing out of the punk's body. Oh, what a wretched fate it was.

She would've loved to stay like this forever, but there was a thought in the back of her head that kept nagging her. Something about…

Her body darted up, waking Chloe on its way. The punk, not knowing where she was, grumbled some curses in surprise.

"C-Chloe?"

After letting out a sleepy sigh a half awake Chloe mumbled, "... Another shitty dream, babe?" A yawn interrupted her. "Get over here, snuggle with me. Snuggling always helps."

The freckled girl was obedient, and nestled her face against the inviting collarbone of her girlfriend, while drearily sighing, "No nightmares, Che."

The bigger girl noticed how much Max's body was trembling, after the smaller girl had fallen into her arms. "Sean Prescott… We fell asleep!... What if he didn't?...-"

"Easy there, Jumpy." Chloe interrupted the small girl, now a lot more lucid than a few seconds ago. One of her hands started massaging the hippie's head. "I was awake until around three. You really think he would come at such an hour?"

"But-" She couldn't even understand how she could be so careless in the first place.

"No buts, except your skinny one, here. He didn't come. We don't know why." The brunette didn't know what to answer. Chloe was right. But was that a reason to be happy? Maybe he didn't come because he didn't need to? Maybe he found another way to get out of the investigation. Would he still try to fuck them over then though?

Seeing that Max was about to have break down again, Chloe quickly tightened the hug, so that their bodies were pressing against each other. "Shh." The punk hummed, trying to hush the lost girl. "We're good, Maxy."

"Are we, really?" A husky voice came from the head, nestled in the punk's collar.

The blue haired girl knew what she was supposed to say, knew what she _**should**_ say to keep Max from panicking, but she just couldn't bring herself to lie into her girlfriend's face. Instead, the two of them fell in an awkward silence.

After a few minutes of worrying and comforting, they brought it over themselves to stand up. "Let's get the fuck out of here. Do some sightseeing, eh?" The punk proposed.

"Sightseeing? Chlo, Arcadia hasn't changed too much, the past ten years."

"Well… Then, we'll do something else. I'll come up with something funny." The bigger girl was worried that her girlfriend would, just like yesterday, fall in a spiral of fear, and didn't even try to hide the fact that she wanted to stop that from happening again.

Then, like most mornings the two shared, Max tried to be subtle while gazing at the punk who was changing.

 _She should just leave the room for a minute, couldn't she?_ Max tried to justify her leching.

And the blue haired girl would have done so if it would've bother her. But Chloe somehow felt honored, in a weird kind of way. Also, she was the one who had made things awkward between them when it came to more… intimate affairs, so blaming someone else would be nothing but unfair.

 _But I won't fuck her. I'll make_ _ **love**_ _to her!_ She promised the freckled girl quietly.

...

As they left the child room - Chloe hated it when someone called her room childish- they could hear Joyce getting ready for work in the bathroom. Just seconds later they found Chloe's step father as well. David was already sitting on the table next to the kitchen, having free on weekends was one of the few privileges he had. His face was hidden behind the newspaper he was reading. Max didn't know how things were between Chloe and her step dad now, but as he lowered the paper, he gave the two of them a weird look, she couldn't decipher at all.

They said good morning to him, and he politely greeted them without saying anything suspicious. The couple then moved in the kitchen to loot something edible. They were content after finding some milk and cereals. Even if neither of them was hunger, they still forced themselves to eat something at least. By now both of them knew that the other one would force them otherwise.

"So?"

"So… I guess we should head for Blackwell sooner or later, but before that we could hang out somewhere." Chloe suggested.

"Sounds good. Anything specific in mind?"

"Naaa, we'll see where the day will flow."

"Chloe have you been smoking again?" The two girls could hear David say.

The couple stared at each other dumbfoundedly, neither of them really knew if Chloe's step dad was joking, or if this was a serious question. "Uhm… N-No?" The punk finally let out after a few awkward moments.

"Sounds like the meds have sunk too deep into your head then."

The blue haired girl blinked a few times, looking at David with eyes wide open. "Are you… fucking with us right now?"

"Of Course I am… Christ, don't make it harder on me than it already is. I'm trying over here." He finally confessed. The adult man then cleared his throat before saying, "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Before you two head out, I want to talk to you two. In the garage preferably.

"Okaaaay?..." Chloe narrowed her eyes in distrust. It was… too weird. He was acting nice out of a blue? Just because he opened up a bit to them she wouldn't just forgive him... would she? Then again, now knowing that David had his own demons that haunted him, like his dead best friend, had brought him into a new light. The veteran never really hated Chloe or her lifestyle, but he loathed himself.

_And he couldn't find a better way of expressing himself then to unleash it on me?... Like I'm one to talk about dealing with bad temper..._

_Saying that I never hit someone I love would be a fucking lie… So, maybe… fuck…. So, maybe me and him really aren't that different? Ugh, it hurts to just think stuff like this._

While Chloe was dealing with her inner struggle, Max had agreed -on behalf of both of them- to meet him in his garage after they were done breakfasting. David nodded, folded his newspaper, stuck it under his arm, and left the room with it.

The punk slowly turned around, brows furrowed for multiple reasons. "Dude, we're really going in his step-cave? Like, isn't that what parents warn young kids about?"

"Just that he isn't a stranger, Chlo."

"Oh, you sure? Now that I think about it, didn't you write in your journal that you jumped into my truck just like that?"

"T-That was completely different!" The freckled girl said with an unusual high pitched voice. "Nathan was there, and I just recognized you, too!"

"Hmm, so you say that you trusted me? After all those years? Even if I look totally trashed now?"

"I-I… Wowser, do you really want to hear it?" Max grimaced in agony.

"What?"

"How did we even end here?"

"Don't try to be evasive now, Caulfield. Spit it out." The punk scoffed.

"There's nothing to be spit." Max groaned back.

"Nothing, but…"

Max felt liked balling together. Her blue eyes were meeting the ground, one hand going through her nearly-brown hair. "That you fucking mesmerized me, the moment I saw you? You were there. My childhood friend. Chloe Elizabeth Price. Not the energetic little girl I used to know, but instead a full fledged woman. With this awesome punk style that I wish I had on top of that!" Max buried her face in her hands, cheeks glowing red. Chloe was her girlfriend, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel embarrassed anymore.

_We're talking about me, Maxine Caulfield, the shy hipster geek here. No way I'll ever_ _**not** _ _be embarrassed about half my life!_

The brunette then risked a quick glimpse at Chloe, and noticed that her girlfriend was staring at her with a picture-book smug smile.

"What?" Maxine hissed.

"Oh, nothing." The punk shrugged. "You're just… adorbs, is all."

"L-Let's just talk to David, shall we?"

"Sure, sure." The bigger girl agreed, in a weird way that let Max know that this wouldn't be the last she heard about this topic. But instead of pouting any longer, she put her empty bowl in the dishwasher.

Neither of them was sure what they should expect from David's invitation. Instead, of coming up with some wild theory, they decided to just go in there and face him.

"We could just sneak away. Be the Arcadia Ninjas once more." Chloe tried one last time to convince her girlfriend.

The freckled girl rolled her eyes in return, although an amused grin played around her lips. She then reached for the door, and opened it.

"Ah, there you two are. Close the door behind you, would you please."

Chloe didn't like this. Being in a shady room with no one, but Max and her step. She couldn't help it, even if she knew that he was trying.

 _Trying what exactly?_ She asked herself in silence. _You can't just lay the mantel of sergeant pepper down._

David was sitting on a wooden chair, next to his workbench. A few screws were laying next to the -now folded- newspaper issue. He stood up so that the couple could see it better, and then pointed at the paper with his chin, not leaving the two girls out of his eyes. "Didn't want Joyce to see you two, when you read this. She would know something's off."

And it was just then that both of them were struck with the same idea. It wasn't like one of those sappy moments in a cliche story where you find it cute that you, and your love think alike. No, not at all.

There was a feeling of utter disgust, brimming with hatred for the idea alone.

If this would be a movie then there would be a funny catch to all of this, but neither of them felt like laughing. The only thing they felt was the hammering of their hearts against their rib cage.

If this would indeed be a story, then neither of the girls would be the funky protagonist. Despite Chloe's sad back-story. Despite Max's super powers. Neither of them was the hero of this story.

Nathan was.

In front of them was the new issue of "Arcadia-Express." Probably the most popular newspaper of the town. On the front cover a face that had haunted Max's dreams since last week constantly.

" **Sean Prescott** **not the good guy from next door? More on page 2!"**

…

"This is really good!"

"Told you."

"Count me surprised. I thought your idea was maximum snobby."

"Drinking tea has nothing to do with being wealthy, Chloe." Kate corrected the blue haired girl. But good to know that you like it here."

The three of them were sitting in a coffee, although neither of them was actually drinking the brown coffin-filled liquid. Instead, they were following Kate's advice, and tried different types of tea. Chloe was pleased with a bitter black one, and Max had just found her new favorite sort: peppermint.

"So, how was school today?" Chloe asked the two students.

"I would've told you if something exciting would've happened" Max pointed out. "Or do you just want to remind me how boring it is without you?"

"Heh, maybe? And how are things on your end Katie? Max told me that you and Vicky are hella besties now?"

"W-Well, besties is taking it a bit far… But she doesn't bully me, or anyone at all, anymore."

"Hmm… We're talking about Chase, right?" And as the blonde girl nodded in response, the punk frowned. "That's weird. Wasn't she the queen bee of Blackwell?"

"Exactly. _Was_." Kate tried to defend her new friend.

"Ha, look at that Maximus, she's getting all smart ass on me!"

With a smile on her face, the brunette quipped back, "Well, sitting here drinking tea isn't that punk-rock either, is it?"

"Course it is! As if you had an idea of what a life as punk girl is about. We are like onions."

Before Max could warn her classmate she innocently asked. "Like onions? You make people cry?"

"No, Kitty-Kate. We have layers. Like onions."

While Kate was simply confused, the blue haired girl couldn't hold the chuckle in any longer.

"Don't worry, Kate. It's just a quote from a movie we watched yesterday."

The blonde let out a confused "Ahhh." but left it at that.

It had been five days since Sean Prescott was supposed to blackmail the partners in time. Five days without a single word from Nathan's father.

Today, it being Wednesday once again, they had met up with Kate to get something close to a breather to all the worrying they had done in the last few days.

And the christian girl was delivering. For a few hours the couple hadn't thought once about storms, psycho teachers, or evil billionaires. Just three girls enjoying some tea accompanied by sweet biscuits.

After a lot of brooding over the article, Chloe and Max had come up with two theories: The first one was that the police had given the press the information, though this was unlikely. Nathan's papers were probably still being used in the investigation after all.

The second one was simply that the heir of the family had given them to the newspaper himself.

"Duh, as if he wouldn't have a copy of documents that mean this much to him." Chloe could facepalm herself for not thinking about it before.

"So, he needed the papers to reach the police safely, before he could take the risk to give them someone else."

"Exactly, Watson. His father could've easily bought the press. Or threatened them. Or whatever those rich people do." The punk shrugged.

But it didn't matter to either of them what happened. They didn't care. Forced themselves not to care. No, this time they would simply be happy, even if it felt wrong that Nathan probably had played a bigger role in it, than both of them together.

But they wouldn't care about something like that either. Nope. Not this time.

That was at least what they told themselves, but the sad truth was that it was shredding them up from within. Especially Chloe felt taunted by the fact that Rachel's killer had saved her and her new love. Like it was one more prank the universe pulled on her.

But right now both of them were just enjoying the time they spent with Kate Marsh.

"Max, sorry if I ask so boldly, but you said you would try to come to school as much as possible. We were pretty worried when you… well, didn't come. Something happened, right?" Kate asked them after pondering over Chloe's weird quote for some time.

"Yep. Something did happen. And no, Kate, this time I seriously can't tell you anything." Max knew that the act of admitting alone was probably too much already, but she had lied to Kate enough already.

"Can't say I'm not curious, but I won't annoy you with it again, I guess."

"No, don't you even think that it annoys me! It's actually really sweet of you to worry. I'm lucky to have a friend like you, Kate." The freckled girl clarified.

A sudden clap startled both friends, and their eyes darted towards Chloe, who had just clapped her hands once. "Okay, ladies, enough lame sappy blabla. Time to do something exciting."

"I love you, Che, but you saying something like this doesn't mean something good." Max was still overwhelmed with how well Kate had taken all of _this_. She didn't even make a face when the two of them kissed each other. Like it was… just normal. Then again, had Kate ever been a person that judged other for what they are?

Max was pulled back into reality by an intense stare from her girlfriend. The blue haired girl slightly furrowed her brows, while not losing the big grin on her lips. Her big blue eyes were sparkling. The type of sparkling that screamed mischief. And instead of retorting anything to soothe her girlfriend, Chloe just stood up and readied herself to leave.

As the three girls -Max and Kate being pushed out by Chloe- left the coffee, she then finally explained what she had planned for the rest of the evening.

We're gonna give you a new style. And little Kate will help me with it."

"Uh-oh." The blonde said unsure.

"You know, Maxster over here always dreamed to be a punk girl."

And there it was. The freckled girl had already anticipated something like this. She knew her girlfriend too good to think that she would simply drop something like that.

"You do?" Kate asked sheepishly.

"W-Well…" The brunette fiddled with her fingers. "Not punk, but at least a bit more… I don't know, daring? I guess?" She didn't even try to deny it. There was no escape.

"Explains the pink in your hair." Her classmate concluded. "I guess you can afford it with the new job of yours."

The punk was actually doing pretty well as a server. Despite knowing that Jefferson had been in said local once, Max even visited her girlfriend here and there. At first it was even a bit alienating. Chloe wearing something normal. Normal meaning a white vest slung over a blue top, and black pants. Her being polite to strangers, always carrying a friendly smile on her lips. Chloe was actually trying.

It made Max proud of her, just thinking about it.

The punk lead the two students to her truck. Afterwards she started the engine of her not-so-safe-to-drive truck and finally explained what she had in mind.

"The problem is, Shitcadia doesn't have any shops. Well, except for the stuff… _you_ wear normally."

Knowing that it was just a playful jab, Max let out a huff but then noted, "Always did wonder where you got your clothes from."

"One powerful, yet magical word. Internet."

The brunette needed a moment, but then she understood what that meant. "If we don't go shopping does that mean… I'm not gonna do a Chloe-cosplay…"

"We're gonna do Chlosplays!" Kate announced cheerfully, before her eyes went down to the radio clock on Chloe's truck. "Dang it, it's already past five. Sorry to let you guys hang but I really should finish some of my homework…"

The punk sighed, not even trying to hide her disappointment. "School sucks!"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, Kate. We can't all life from a side job, like some do."

"H-Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" The blue haired girl faked to be offended, which just earned another scoff from Max.

"That Kate got a bright future. We shouldn't try to pull her down with us."

"Us? Babe, I think your talking yourself down again."

"Nuh-uh. I've fallen too deep into the rabbit hole."

For a moment Chloe wanted to retort with " _More like punk hole"_ , but then she noticed how awkward that would sound. Her cheeks suddenly felt slightly warmer than a minute ago. Not much, but more than enough for Max to notice. She didn't comment on it though, but instead blushed as well, silently understanding what her girlfriend must've been thinking.

A few minutes later they reached Blackwell. As Kate left the car, she turned around, one eyebrow quirked up. "What about you, Max? Gonna sleep at Chloe's again?"

The freckled girl just shrugged in return. Sleeping alone was still… unsettling. But she couldn't explain that to Kate, could she? "Probably."

"See you tomorrow, then?"

"Kate, you don't need to make sure. I won't chuck another sickie."

"For now." Chloe added, her smile of mischief lurking on the tips of her mouth again.


	38. Back to normal once more

Chloe's room had become like their main-base, over the last few weeks. After most other hot spots were kind of ruined by… certain events, they had nowhere else to hide from the world. It wasn't a bad thing in of itself, David didn't come barging anymore so that was a plus point. But somehow it felt too... well, normal for the partners in time to hang out in a… normal room.

A normal room full of punk rock clothes.

"Can't we wait for Kate? She seemed pretty excited to do a, what did she call it, Chloesplay?"

"Nuh-uh. They always said that your girlfriend wearing your way-to-large-stuff is ridiculously sexy. I wanna see if they are right."

Chloe smiled as she saw how her girlfriend's face was starting to glow. "Who are _they_ , in the first place?" Max tried to talk herself out of it, even if she couldn't deny the fact that she was kind of excited. After all, it wasn't like the idea of changing her 'style' was new to Max. _Getting a tattoo seems bit hardcore, but trying on a few things is harmless… right?_

" _They,_ are… uh, people. On the internet, in films, stuff like that." The punk tried to answer the rhetorical question.

The freckled girl only retorted an "Uh-huh." Then, she opened the closet, so that she could look at the options she had.

Seeing that her girlfriend would play alone, Chloe smiled wickedly. "Knew you would be into it."

"I'm not into... I'm just…" With a quiet huff, she tried to get rid of a hair streak, falling into her face. "Stop teasing me, Che."

"But you're adorbs when you pout."

"Didn't you say I'm always adorable?"

An evil smile sneaked onto Chloe's face. "Well, yes, but especially when you pout."

"Great. Thanks a lot…" The freckled girl rolled her eyes, underlining just how grateful she was.

"Aww, you pouting again?"

"Ugh." Max had just played into it. She threw her hands up in surrender. Expecting another sassy comment, she turned her back towards her girlfriend, as if that would help her in any way. But instead of more sass, she felt two hands crawling onto her waist, pulling her into Chloe.

Their bodies pressed against each other so tightly that Maxine could feel the bigger girl's chest pressing against her back. As the soft sensation let her freeze, a weird shiver went through Max's body, electrifying it. Blood flowed into her head. Then, suddenly the smaller girl felt torn, as if one half of her brain was screaming to shift out of the hug, while the other…

The punk rested her chin on the brunette's shoulder, cheeks touching slightly. "So, wanna try this one?" Chloe asked, pointing at one of her white tank-tops.

"S-Sure!" Max retorted, just a bit too quick and hoarsely.

The blue haired girl raised one of her brows. "Everything okay, Jumpy?"

"Yes, o-of course! The one with the skull on it, right?" The brunette cursed her own stuttering.

Chloe didn't like it when Max beat around the bush. In fact, she hated it. There was always the possibility of something serious raising havoc in her girlfriend's head.

_Why should she be worried, though? Senior Pressass didn't reach out for us. School is going well for her, too…. At least she says it does… Did she maybe have a fight?_

"Hey, Maxster, you would tell me if something was bugging you, right?

The problem was that Max couldn't. What should she say?

_Yes, Chlo, you're right. Something is bugging me. Your tits to be exact._ Nope that wouldn't work. _Just why did she have to make things so awkward… I just want to feel her… Be with her…_

Max couldn't control it. Her was still ignited. "Sorry, can I just use the bathroom real quick?"

"Sure?..."

The freckled girl left the room rather quick, after freeing herself from Chloe's grip. She sighed once she was outside and the door was closed. Max wasn't angry, nor was she sulky, she knew that her girlfriend wanted to wait after all. But what did she herself want?

She splashed some cold water on her burning face, trying to calm down. Max had tried to accept Chloe's decision. But the last few days had shown that it would be… difficult.

_If I could just stop the stupid overdose of hormones! Why do I have to be a horny teenager?!_

She knew that Chloe wouldn't let her sudden escape stand like that, without an honest explanation. So, before re-entering the room, she prepared a bunch of answers.

But instead of a barrage of questions, Chloe was sitting on her bad with a serious expression, eyebrows furrowed, hands folded together on her lap, and her blue eyes focused on the floor. Max recognized that face. It was worry-Chlo-Chlo's face.

"Chlo? I-I'm fine, really."

"Say, Maxi, we are dating, right?"

For a moment the freckled girl was taken aback by the weird question. She wasn't angry, was she? "You don't seriously expect me to answer, do you?"

"Let's go on a date."

"A date?"

"We are dating, but our number of dates is frightening low. What do you say, think you can squeeze in some free time next Saturday. For good old me?"

Max thought about it for a moment. Something was off with the bigger girl. She couldn't point the finger at it, but she was acting weirder than usual. "Che, I'm not angry at you or anything."

"I know. I would know if you were." The blue haired girl waved Max's idea off. "Why did you leave, though?"

There it was. The expected question. _Because I got aroused? Because I can't trust myself around you? For fuck sake, am I really going to say that out loud?_ The brunette gulped heavily, trying to flush the lump in her throat down. But before she could actually answer, the blue haired girl let out a sigh, brimming with worry. "See? Did something happen at school? Did you have a fight? Someone still stalking ya because of all the hero stuff?"

"N-No! Well, yes. Some people still ask me some ridiculous things. I won't sign anything for anyone." As expected the hype around Maxine Caulfield, slayer of the demon teacher, savior of Arcadia Bay, had died off quickly. Max didn't miss a second of it. "But that's not it. I just... "

"Just **what** , babe? With all this shit going down, I-I can't tell the difference between a just-moody day, and... a fucked day." Her voice nearly broke. "I need your help, Maximouse."

Chloe looked up, eyes meeting her girlfriend's, and just now Max noticed how watery they had become. She felt like slapping herself. While her amazing girlfriend had been worried sick about her, she had only fantasized about what? The feeling of Chloe's mouth on different parts of her body?

"God damn it… I'm the worst" The freckled girl exhaled heavily, and then made a few quick steps forward, and embraced her still sitting girlfriend, pressing the blue haired head into her belly. She could feel how two hands balled into fists on her back.

It had been a few days since Friday, but the hard truth was that neither of them was feeling less stressed now. It would probably take weeks of nothingness before either of them could say they were just okay. And Max felt like shit for not thinking once about how her actions might seem for Chloe.

"Now, just thinking about is so stupid."

"Just tell me." She could hear a whisper coming from the area around her navel.

"I…" The brunette couldn't help but chuckle at the mere thought now. "I felt… Well... after feeling your...breasts on my back..." She brought her point across, but couldn't bring it over herself to finish the sentence.

There was an awkward silence for just enough seconds, so that Max started worrying.

"You really are stupid. But you're okay, right? Nothing to worry about? Seriously?"

With a soothing voice Max confirmed that everything was fine, while stroking Chloe's blue hair with one of her hands. She could feel how a deep breath warmed the area around the punk's face on her stomach.

"You… really... are… **stupid**!" Chloe suddenly yelled, while throwing herself back onto the bed, taking the girl in her arms with her. The only thing Max could do as she was swept from the floor, was letting out a high pitched shriek. The squealing was muffled as soon as the freckled girl collided with the blanket.

They jostled with each other for a few seconds, but then Chloe came out on top. Knowing that she had the favored position, a smug smile appeared on her lips. "I was seriously worried because of you. You little perv!"

"I-I'm not- **Ah**!" Max couldn't finish her sentence, thanks to a barrage of tickle-attacks. She couldn't defend herself against the bigger girl, her only option was to meander herself from under Chloe.

Of course teasing the brunette was one of the punk's favorite activities, but just the ring of Max's laugh, even if it was forced, was bliss for her. The vibration, which came out of the little frame under her, was shaking her bones. It was cleansing her whole being, as if it had been freed from a layer of dust or icy frost had been swept away from it.

It was right in this moment that Chloe Elizabeth Price decided once and for all that this sound was the best thing in the world.

_I'll totally blow her hipster head away on the weekend!_

…

They died a few more times, trying to finally get through Sen's fortress, but then sleep caught up. They could feel how their shoulders got heavier, their eyelids were falling down again and again, and at some point the two gave up on gaming. Still, feeling a weariness in them made it easy to sleep in the comfort of one another.

Chloe, who would normally sleep a lot more than she did when her girlfriend was crashing, didn't really care about the few lost hours. The shut-eye she got in exchange was more than worth it. The blue haired girl couldn't say why or how, but it felt like a battery that was being charged when she was sleeping with Maxine in her arms. She exchanged quantity for quality.

Over the last few days the couple had slipped into some type of routine. The punk woke up with her arms slung around the smaller girl, and before they tackled the day, they ate breakfast with Joyce. Yesterday, on Tuesday, even David had been eating with them. Without yelling, screaming, crying, or even angry glaring, the Prices plus Max just had a conventional morning, which was surprising in of itself.

Since Friday, the veteran had been alarmed, so to say. Chloe and Max needed to explain that they had met Nathan. After all, they still owed David for helping them to get into Blackwell Academy. To be frank, he wasn't a big fan of the story.

"So, much could have gone wrong!"

And he had a point. That's why neither of the girls could really be angry with him. Even if Chloe tried. But just as Max expected another fight between the two, David exhaled discontented through his nose.

"But I see why you did go anyway." And with that his irritated expression changed into one of understanding. Since then he and Chloe hadn't talked much, but the bits and pieces they actually did talk with each other were _almost_ friendly. Close enough.

Joyce, seeing that the air between her two loves was getting more pleasant, had a big satisfied smile on her face, for the whole time they ate together in the morning.

So, where were we again? Ah, yes, Breakfast.

After inhaling some eggs and toast, the two girls moved upstairs again, and Max readied herself for school. Afterwards the punk drove her back to Blackwell just in time, so that Max wouldn't be late. Getting a kiss for the ride was more than enough compensation for Chloe.

...

School was…. meh. Annoying to say the least. Max had forgotten that things like homework, or just standard teenage future-anxiety, could suck major ass.

But despite all the negatives, there was a bright side to it as well. In the two and a half weeks, Max had missed, the teachers hadn't gone that much deeper into the subject material, and she was making actually pretty good progress on catching up to the other students.

Also, seeing her friends again, after what felt like years, was restorative. At last, some wounds were starting to heal now. Visiting Dana and Juliet to hear them chatter about boys and rumors, without the fear of a storm or some psycho ruin her life, was like a vacation.

Old Max would've hated it. I was always scared of how people saw me. It's just so… irrelevant, it's almost funny.

Some part of her was even starting to believe that everything would be okay. And that was frightening Maxine more than anything. Because if something _should_ happen, she needed to be prepared. It would destroy her if the worst case scenario

_How can I say that anything will be good, from now on? Maybe everything will get even more fucked? Maybe I triggered a storm somewhere else. In some other town. Killing hundreds without even knowing any of them?_

The panic-attacks didn't end. But somehow she managed through the first half of the week. Obviously Chloe, but also all of her other friends were very supportive and patient, even if they didn't see the whole picture. Stories had spun around the happenings with Jefferson, so that now each student had his own version of what had happened.

Max didn't ask. Nor did she talk about it.

Right now, she was sitting in the library going over the last few things she needed to figure out for algebra. Biting her pen, she was struggling with one certain assignment, but just as she was about to throw the towel she heard someone speak up. She would just surrender, go back to her room and wait for Chloe to come over, after she was done working.

"H-Hey, need a hand? Or, well, a brain?" Warren was standing behind Max's back, looking down on her papers.

For a moment she stared at the boy in surprise. Warren had been the only one who hadn't talked too much with her in the last few days. It wasn't like he had hard feelings, or well one could say that exactly that was the problem. He did have feelings for Max, still. Warren was not stupid, he knew that it would never be anything more than friendship between the two of them, but who can really decide how his heart feels, right?

_But can I blame him? Chloe rubbed us in his face pretty hard. Must've sucked major ass to see her kiss me, seemingly out of nowhere._

"Ugh, does it make even sense? I think my assignment is botched or something."

"If you just use the equation on page forty five, it's actually pretty easy."

One eyebrow quirked up, she gawked at him. "Seriously Warren? You really even know the pages by heart?"

He just shrugged, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "You know me. Been Always the go-to-nerd."

"Haven't you?" She agreed, a smile playing on the tip of her mouth. Then, the two of them fell into an awkward silence. Not knowing what to say, or what to do, the boy just sat himself in front of Max and started reading a book as well.

The freckled girl didn't try to have small talk either. She knew why the normally so talkative Warren was silent. From time to time he glimpsed over, and it seemed like Warren wanted to say something, as he opened his mouth, but before any word could escape, he quickly closed it again.

After about ten minutes of this charade, Max loudly sighed through her nose. "Something up?"

"Huh?... I… N-No, it's nothing."

"Warren…"

"I just…" He groaned, irritated with his own stuttering. "I just… I'm sorry."

"You've done no-"

"That's the point." He showed her a sad smile, now eyes fully focused on her. "Haven't been there since… And don't say you didn't need help. I know you got Chloe and all, but... " He was right. Kate and Warren were Max's closest friends, besides Chloe obviously. The freckled girl knew that Kate had to deal with her own demons, but Warren? What had he been up to for the last weeks?

_How would I feel if I found Chloe making out with some other girl? Depression would've banished me into nothingness, I guess. He probably needed time as well, to compensate and shit._

"I'm seriously sorry that I hurt you. But just like you, I can't decide who I like."

Warren frowned upon hearing that. "Dude, I know. That wasn't… I don't blame either of you, Max. Don't think so low of me." He sounded wounded.

Offending him like that wasn't her intention. She pursed her lips, fiddling with her pink streak. "Sorry that didn't come out like I planned." Her blue eyes dug into the wooden table between them.

"Oh, I know someone who didn't _come out_ as planned, as well." He was right. Thinking back, it was quite embarrassing. They kissed in front of everyone. Literally everyone... Wait. Did he just… sass her?

She tilted her head to the side, brows furrowed. "I was quite shocked myself. But Piper Chapman is actually bi."

A sarcastic smile appeared on his lips. "And Chloe is Alexa, eh?"

His goofy nature let Max mouth tilt upwards. But she also wanted to know how they stood now. "I really like you Warren. You are like one of my best friends, and I would hate to lose that."

He gave an agreeing hum, as he nodded. "Just give me some time. Gonna sort some stupid stuff out." And then he mumbled more to himself, "That's why cyborgs are so dang cool."

"You would rather be a heartless machine?"

"That a serious question, Max?" He retorted, voice full of sarcasm.

No. They were talking about Warren Graham. This was not a question. "More like a clarification." The freckled girl chuckled.

"That's not a laughing matter! Just think about it. I would come from the future to save all of you. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

Max was quite happy that Warren didn't see how her hand balled a fist, under the table. Immediately after the boy had finished his reference of Terminator, she had bitten her own tongue. She buried her face in the book, in hope that it would provide a good hideout.

_He didn't mean it literally, you dingus!_ She tried to calm down, while pretending to study again. _Just a joke. Nothing but a joke..._

"So, seriously now Mad Max, you need any help with this stuff?" For a moment she was confused, as Warren spoke up again. Then, she noticed that he was pointing at the book in her hands.

"Actually, yes. I got some homework still preying on me in my room. Would it be o-okay if you check them?" She cursed herself for the single stutter. The freckled girl would lack an answer if Warren noticed that something was off with her.

The boy shrugged. "Sure thing. Not like I have a life outside school, anyway."

"Cool. Follow me then, young one."

"It's just by two years." The boy groaned.

"Two long, long years, Warry."

"Ugh, don't call me that." He rolled with his eyes, but couldn't help the smile on his face.

The two of them packed their stuff together, and headed for Max's room. Once they entered, he looked around. "Hm, just like last time I was here."

The brunette narrowed her eyes. "That sounds like it's a bad thing."

"Well, your room is … artistic?"

"My room is not messy." She defended her realm, arms akimbo.

"I said artistic."

"You did mean messy, though."

"Well…" Warren looked around once more. Papers were spread all over the table. Photos she had shot two weeks ago, were taking the last few inches of free space left. Here and there some clothes were resting lonely on the ground as well. "It is."

"Nuh-uh. I know exactly where everything is."

"Then, find me the homework you got problems with in under two minutes."

"That a challenge, Graham?"

"If you win, I'll do it for you."

"Nice, but what if I lose?"

"You…" He looked around the town to come up with something. Then, he spotted the guitar, resting laid against the couch. "You play something for me?"

"I'm not that good."

"That's not up to you to decide. Deal or no deal, Caulfield?"

The freckled girl agreed, thinking that it would be easy, and that him doing her homework would give her some time before Chloe came over. It took her over five minutes. "Dog damn it!"

"As I said, very artistic." The boy noted with a smug smile on his lips.

"Shut it." Max huffed in return.

"So, you gonna play something?"

"I warned you, don't expect too much."

He just rolled with his eyes, while sitting himself on the chair next to the table.

The freckled girl took the guitar in her hands, and made herself comfortable on the sofa. She hadn't thought about what to play yet, but as her fingers stroke over the strings she started playing, without even noticing it herself. After a few seconds she realized that it was Mountains from "Message To Bears" that had popped into her head.

As the slow tunes vibrated through the room, Max closed her eyes, and just played. Not thinking about her fears nor her wounds, she just played. She hadn't used her guitar in a long time, so sometimes she missed a tone, but it didn't interrupt her in the slightest. She had missed playing it, so instead of getting angry at her mistakes, she indulged the music she was creating.

For once she was creating something. She had gotten way too used to the idea of her being the destroyer of worlds.

As she finished, she opened her eyes again, vision blurred by water.

_W-When did I start crying?_

Warren just noticed it as well, and after a short moment of hesitation, he stood up, and sat himself next to her. "You okay?"

But before Max could lie to Warren, the door swung open, revealing a big blue haired punk.

"Hey!- Uhm?" Chloe was taken aback by the picture that had just unfolded in front of her.

Max was crying. Warren next to her. What did just happen?


	39. It's raining somewhere else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is like... My first "Writers-block" ever. Whoa, always thought that it was kind of just a thing people say, but right now as soon as I sit down to do some work, I get distracted immediately. I'm sorry, but I'll take some time for now to write. Not saying that the story is paused, but I can't promise the frequent updates for now.

Max cried. Warren was next to her.

Chloe's inside tightened so much that she could feel actual pain in her chest-area.

But was it anger? Was it worry? Was it confusion? What was the feeling that was so painful.

"Hi, Chloe." Max quickly wiped the drops off her cheek. "Don't worry, I just got stupidly emotional for no reason."

It was probably true, wasn't it? Why would she lie? The aching didn't stop.

"... Ah, if you say so." The words somehow managed to get through the white wall of teeth.

The punk couldn't stop glaring at the younger boy next to _her_ girl. There was a short moment of silence. The atmosphere was oppressive, to say the least.

Chloe's lips were pressed together so tightly the area around her mouth was starting to become white. Luckily, her hands were hidden behind a layer of leather, like that nobody could see the fists she was clenching.

_I don't even need a word Max, just give me something. A fraction of an expression, a shaky voice, just something. Just one reason to break his-_

As if he could've heard Chloe's thoughts, Warren stood up, scratching the back of his head. "I… I should probably leave." Warren was not the most outgoing person, but even he knew when it was time to get the hell out.

There was just one problem in his way. A girl, even taller than him, looming in the door frame. An emotionless, blank face was glaring down at him. Her calmness was terrifying the smaller boy.

"Uh, h-hey, Chloe, it's really not what it looks like. I just wanted to help her do some homework. That's… all." And it was true, partially. He couldn't know about the many scars left in Max's heart. "She can probably explain to you why she cried, and that it has nothing to do with me." He emphasized on the last part. "So, c-could you just let me go?" He was now standing in front of Chloe, while keeping a -what he hoped would be- safe distance between him and the punk.

_Don't tell me what to do, asshole._

Without letting out a sound, her eyes slowly moved to see if Max had anything to say. Chloe somehow hoped to see a thumb turned down. Instead, she saw how her girlfriend was having a delighted smile on her lips, while waving off Chloe's idea of punishing the poor guy.

"Sure thing." She nodded at him.

Chloe waited a few moments after the dull thump of the door, before truly checking her girlfriend for the first time since arriving in Max's room.

Even after Warren had left the room, the painful sting in her chest didn't vanish. Even now, while her girlfriend didn't look sad at all anymore, Chloe still felt the sour throbbing in her throat.

The sky, she could see through the window was slowly turning Grey. It would rain today, wouldn't it?

_Didn't it rain that day, too? The day I first noticed that Rachel was acting different?_

…

"I'm sorry Chlo, I'll be late."

"But why? Didn't you say that today you would be free?" The blue haired girl groaned into her phone.

"Yea, but something came up. Not all of us can life that carefree life, y'know?"

"Watch it with the sass, or karma will get you one day, Amber. Karma is a bitch, remember?"

"Ohhh, I thought the only thing _you_ believed in was those weird mathematical hieroglyphics?" The snarky voice on her ear quipped back.

"Anyways, there is really no way you can come sooner?"

"Nope. Unfortunately, school is important to me. Sorry."

That was weird… She never cared before. "... Kay. See ya Rach."

"Later, I _promise_."

Chloe hated promises. Why did people promise anything in the first place? It seemed like they would break them anyways, as soon as it gets inconvenient. She knew that Rachel didn't have any homework, or if she had she wouldn't care. She never had, why should she now start for no apparent reason? She did get the "As" even without much studying.

Chloe let out a frustrated sigh. _No use rambling about it._ Rachel had her reasons, and Chloe trusted her.

_What should I do now?_

She was already on the junkyard, so why not enjoy some alone time? She could… drink a beer… alone... smoke some greens… alone.

_Geez, am I a loner or what?_

_Then, she_ got an idea. Why not take some photos of the cool nature around the yard. It would-

_Not even going there. I'll never do something like that traitorous bitch._

For a few hours she strayed through the place, alone. Rachel still wasn't here. She hadn't answered any of the texts either…

Chloe balanced over some old rusty ships and cars, eyes always directed on the ground. She didn't want to injure herself here.

_Probably would get some nasty diseases if something cut me._

Then, after what felt like an eternity, the first drop hit her nose. As the punk looked up, it started to rain. Chloe rushed towards her truck, but before she could reach it she was already wet to the bone. Disappointed, she decided to wait in the safety of the rusty car.

_Can't be that much longer. She probably just forgot to answer them. She promised after all._

Rachel never came.

…

_Why am I thinking of_ _**her** _ _now? I… No, no, no, no! It's not like that. Max'll give me a perfectly fine explanation, and everything will be fine!_

Just that Max didn't.

"There was no reason I had tears in my eyes, really. Didn't even feel sad."

"And why was _he_ here?" Chloe didn't want to accuse her of anything. It just happened.

Max frowned at the sharp undertone of her girlfriend. "Warren actually said the truth. He offered to help with some school related stuff."

That's right. Warren was a smart kid. It was good that he helped Max. She needed to catch up. He was nice, caring, and funny at times. He would have a bright future, for sure!

A voice that in the back of her head slowly creeped into her conscious mind. It was more of an idea, really. Just one, simple, small comparison.

_You've been here before, haven't you? The girl of your dreams. In a few weeks she won't have time here and there. Then she'll slowly-_

_Stop it! Max is not like that…_

It seemed like Chloe wasn't too good on hiding her emotions as she used to be. The freckled girl had her forehead creased in worry.

"I've no idea what's in that big blue head of yours, but I don't like the way you look."

"And here I thought you found me attractive."

"Not what I meant, Che."

"It's nothing." The punk shrugged halfheartedly.

On that, the freckled girl exhaled sharply through her nose, while patting at the empty seat next to her, on the couch. Chloe couldn't resist the Max-cig of her girlfriend. She wanted to. She really did. She wasn't a stupid puppy that would run after her master.

Chloe sat herself next to her. The smaller girl stared at her for a moment as if she was waiting for something. Then, with an eye roll, she made a demanding hum, as she opened her arms invitingly.

Before any sour thought could hinder Chloe, she was already shifting into the embrace. She could fight it as much as she wanted, but right now she needed the physical affection. She needed to know that Max was still here, together with her. Chloe dropped her head onto Max's lap, and then buried her face in the brunette's soft tummy. She could feel how a hand gently massaged her head. In return she sighed into her girlfriend's t-shirt.

The punk didn't want to talk. She didn't want to tell the girl she loved the nasty idea in her head. She just wanted to stay like this. Close to Max's all-embracing warmth. Close to the small, skillful fingers which sent electric sparks through her head.

So, the bigger girl decided to not say anything, just yet. For now, she just savored the moment, sighing heavily once or twice. Chloe could feel how her conscious was quietly saying goodbye, as she started drifting into sleep. She couldn't help it. Max was, despite all the worries, giving her an utter feeling of protection.

But then, a concerned voice pulled her back. "Chlo?"

"Hmm."

"Take my shirt out of your mouth before talking."

A denying "Hmhm." left her mouth. Talking would just bring back memories. Chloe didn't need them. She rather wanted to make new ones here, with Max.

"I won't leave you." At the sudden declaration, the punk finally lifted her face.

_How can she say that? She doesn't know what the future holds!_

"Don't promise anything, Max. I hate-"

"I didn't."

Chloe bit her lips, while raising her body. Her eyes met Max's blue ones as she sighed. She noticed how determined the smaller girl was. "You did talk about us moving together once, didn't you?" A weak smile scurried over her face for a moment. "F-For a moment, don't ask why I'm not sure myself, I… Seeing you with Warren reminded me of... of..."

"Rachel and Frank?" Max's carefully finished the sentence, as Chloe's voice began to break.

The blue haired girl just nodded. She was ashamed of herself. But insecurities won't just leave without a fight.

"You know… That's a pretty stupid thought, Che? No offense."

"Course I know. Who would change this," She pointed at her own body, "For this nerd?"

The brunette couldn't help but form a big smile. "My point, exactly." But then her brows furrowed together once more. "Chloe…" With a firm voice Max explained, "I would have sacrificed the town, if my last attempt wouldn't have succeeded."

"Y-You said that before…" Chloe's hand rested on her own lap. Her eyebrows were creased in confusion.

"Seemed like you needed a little reminder." The brunette explained her with a wink.

"Why, though?"

"Because you're feeling down and all."

Now it was Chloe's turn to furrow her brows. "Not what I meant either. I'm not worth all those lives, Max."

"Luckily you don't have a say in that matter. Nobody has." Despite her firm voice, the blue haired girl could see how uncomfortable Max was. The small girl was nervously fiddling streak with her pink. She didn't want to talk about this one particular week.

"I know… That's why I'm asking. You can't deny I-"

"Listen Che. I got these powers for a reason. I didn't turn back time in class, after school or the next day. I did it when I saw you for the first time in years. Do you seriously think that it was all a coincidence? Someone, or _something,_ wanted you to be save."

Chloe gulped. Could Max be right? Did she deserve to… live? "Fate, huh?..."

"Call it what you want." The small girl in front of her was pouting. Then, suddenly her eyes glimmered with something else. "Did you seriously have an existential crisis because of Warren? Whoa, never expected you to see him as that much of a threat."

"I…" Chloe was taken aback by that. She blinked a few times in confusion. Did she really give him that much credit? She was fucking Chloe Elizabeth Price! The bad ass punk rock girl, wasn't she?! "A threat? Ha! But I won't back down from a challenge!" Somehow Max's teasing had given her back her fire.

"Challenge? Chlo, he knows I'm gay. Warren said himself that he'll get over me, he just needs time."

A wry grin formed on the punk's face. "If he needs time, looks like he has come to the right place, eh?" The pun scored her a nudge from the smaller girl.

But then Max's expression sobered once more. "Seriously though, I get where all of this is coming from Che, but I would still like to stay friends with him. If it's not okay with you though I'll tell him and-"

"Naa, it's fine. In the great history of the Price family household, it's tradition to not back down when an intruderly intruder intruded your land."

"Always wondered how it would feel to be a piece of land."

"My piece." Chloe corrected her with a wink, which earned her a slight blush from Max. Of course that didn't go unnoticed by the blue haired girl. "You like being called my territory that much?"

"With the emphasis on the _my_ , maybe..." The brunette snickered for a moment, but then she realized something. "W-Wait, don't dodge the question!"

"I'm… It sucks."

"Then, I'll tell him-"

But Chloe quickly waved with her hands, to stop Max from whatever she planned to do. "Stop, stop. That came out wrong. It sucks that… that I can't even trust you. You just chilled with a friend, and I get hella triggered from it? That's totally not okay. Actually now that I think about it, you should be kinda pissed at me…"

"C'mon, we've been through worse in the two weeks of our relationship. And I told you, didn't I? I get it." The freckled girl shrugged.

_It's not like you decided to be emotionally scarred by all the people you loved._

"The only thing we can do is talk about it." Max concluded. "So, wanna put down roots here or should we go?"

"Y-Yea, let's go home."

…

The ride back was quiet. Chloe appreciated Max's reaction, but was still angry.

_Heh, anger is the one emotion I'm familiar with, isn't it? Angry at others. Angry at myself. Angry at the universe. It's time I start accepting that I'm just not… perfect. Maximouse is right. Of course she is. The only thing we can do is being honest with each other. I'm just too stubborn to accept it._

The blue haired girl gave the impression that she was focusing on the street, but Max knew better. The girl driving the car was wearing an expression very familiar to her. She was still lost in thoughts. It even seemed like Chloe was angry at some… thing? The freckled girl decided that this wasn't a expression she liked on the energetic and sarcastic Chloe she loved.

"Hey, Chloe?"

"Hmm?"

"You know what a horse eats?"

Startled by the weird question, Chloe quirked one of her eyebrows. "Uhm, hay?"

"And a gay one?"

"Oh boy…" Chloe braced herself for what was to come.

"Haaaaaaay."

"Ugh, that one is terrible." The punk said as she grimaced.

Seeing her girlfriend's anticipated reaction, Max chuckled. "Isn't it?"

"..." Chloe knew why her girlfriend was resorting to terrible jokes now. "I… Just thought about what you said. Even if we say that we'll be honest with each other, it is a pretty hard thing to do, isn't it?"

"You're talking to the winner of the social-awkwardness-contest, three times in a row for the record, so I can pretty much guess where you're coming from. But once you do, it feels like you're being... freed."

"Oh, budo Max speaking." But then the bigger girl shrugged. "You're right though. Just like yesterday when you ran away cause of my tits."

Being reminded of yesterday, the red color immediately shot into her freckled face. "I… You… Can't you at least try to be subtle?"

"Na. Oh, by the way, nearly forgot to ask you if you thought about the date this weekend? You have time or what?"

"For you? Hmmm, I'll have to see if I can rearrange some stuff in my schedule." But as she noticed the disappointed puppy-face Chloe was pulling, she just rolled her eyes. "Duh, of course I have time, Che. Always for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> On another note I also got absolutely lost in the game Undertale. If anyone hasn't played it yet what are you doing here?


	40. The war is won before the fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New chapter finally. As I said, still updating, just not as quick as usual. Still, I hope you guys can enjoy the chapter ^^
> 
> On another note, this story reached over 200 kudos already! That's insane, even if most of you don't care :D Still, I really appreciate the support!:3

"Jesus Christ, just chill Max." Victoria snapped as she rolled her eyes at the nervous brunette. "It's not like you two aren't together already."

It had been Kate's idea to bring her along. Max knew that the christian girl tried to warm the relationship between Victoria and her, so it hadn't really surprised her much when Kate asked if she could come. What did her surprise however was the fact that the former queen bee actually appeared.

Maxine ignored the nagging and instead was looking at her wardrobe... Or what was left of it, after she had thrown all the ugly thing to the side.

_They are not ugly! They're just… Well, not fitting! That's a word to describe it. I'm going on a date, I can't just wear a Grey hoodie._

Too late the freckled girl had realized that this was a date. Not just her, and her best friend, hanging out together after school. No, it was her, and her _lover_ , going on a -hopefully- romantic… something? She wasn't sure what to expect to be honest. Romantic event? Romantic Adventure? Romantic picnic? She wasn't experienced in any of it. Her brown haired head felt fuzzy from all the thinking. But the gears didn't stop.

_Did Chloe have any dates up till now? Joyce did say she hit the bad boy phase once-_

Max's eyes finally focused again after hearing fingers being snapped, right next to her ear. "Hello? Earth to Caulfield?"

"Y-Yeah? What?"

An annoyed sigh left the blonde's mouth, earning her a nudge from Kate sitting next to her. "Do not be mean Vick. It's very cute how nervous Max is."

Victoria rubbed the upper arm Kate had just nudged. "Well, it's not as annoying as I thought it would be." With one final look over the mess that was Max's room she let out another sigh. This time the annoyance from before was missing though. "Is that really all you have? I don't know why I expected anything from the hipster you are."

"Don't listen to Vicky. You're freaking adorbs, Maxster!" Dana spoke up, seemingly annoyed by the loud blonde girl.

"D-Dana is right. You shouldn't worry about it too much." Kate agreed with the cheerleader.

It had been such a stupid idea. She shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place. Why would she need two friends plus Victoria to help her choose an outfit? She knew Chloe best, she knew what she would like… Wouldn't she?

_Damn insecurities!_ Max cursed herself. "Maybe... A jeans is enough after all."

Dana exhaled through her nose. "You can't be serious."

"Victoria has a point, it's just Chloe."

"Hey, I never said you _shouldn't_ wear something fancy, just that you should hurry."

"Do you even hear yourself? You just admitted Victoria was right."

The blonde frowned while turning her face to glare at the cheerleader. "Excuse me?" But Dana simply ignored the blonde girl.

_Looks like she's still angry because of the sexting drama. Totally forgot about it. Feels like ages since that happened…_

"But she likes me either way." Max still tried to argue, knowing that her defense was crumbling.

Now, it was Kate that raised her voice. "That doesn't mean you don't have to try, though."

The freckled girl blinked a few seconds at her christian friend, and it seemed like she was rebooting her system. What just happened? Did Kate Marsh seriously just give her a good tip about relationships? Kate Marsh, the shy and innocent little girl?

"That is… a pretty good point, Kati." The brunette admitted, rubbing the back of her head.

Dana couldn't hold a little snicker back. "Surprised? Our little angel here has many layers."

"Yes! Like onions!" Kate confirmed with one of her smiting smiles.

"Can we get back on topic guys? Max, we will get you a nice outfit for the date." Victoria promised.

"That's…. nice of you?"

"I made the effort of coming here, I don't want that effort go to waste. Just be ready to change clothes..." And as the blonde girl looked around the mess of all the clothes she added "... A lot."

"Wait, you live literally next door. You don't need to-"

"Not the point, Caulfield. Much more important is the lack of style here." She almost sounded determined to help Max out now. The freckled girl wasn't the only one who noticed that Victoria was totally in her element now. While she grumbled something about different colors that would accentuate her face, Kate just smiled at her.

Then, Dana asked something entirely different. "But you know what you guys are going to do, right?"

"Well…"

"Oh, you don't? That's so cute."

Maxine shrugged. "She loves surprises as much as anybody."

"Hmm, I bet you love sur _prices_ just a little bit more than normal people, right?" Dana quipped back with a sly grin.

The freckled girl simply ignored the tease. "I'm probably overthinking everything anyways. I always do. We're probably going to eat something in Two Whales and watch a movie at hers afterwards." Max shrugged.

"Hell no, you won't. Just look at the way she's dressed all the time. She loves to be the uber hipster. You really think she'll do something so mainstream? It would probably hurt her hipster genes." Victoria pointed out.

Truthfully speaking, Max didn't believe that either. Chloe had been so serious when she invited Max, if this was really nothing special she wouldn't have gone out of her way like that. But Maxine still had no idea what her girlfriend was planning for tomorrow.

"Maybe she'll have diner with you in a nice restaurant?" Kate guessed.

Dana skeptically quirked her eyebrows on that. "With candles and shit? I don't think that's her style. What do you think?" She asked Max while nodding towards her.

An image of a blue haired punk playing with the flame until the whole local was on fire, for some reason popped into Max's head. "N-no. Don't think so either."

"As far as I can tell, She likes getting herself in trouble. So, a nice dress is probably not a good idea." Dana pointed out.

Thinking back at her past "date", which was more of a break in, Max agreed with the cheerleader.

_A dress would've been… in the way._

Was that it? Was Chloe planning some weird adventure again? It sounded more realistic than a candlelight diner to be honest. Or maybe they would drive to some sort of concert? Either way some casual -yet nice- clothes would do the trick then, right?

"I can't take this any longer!" Victoria suddenly groaned after an unusual long period of silence. "Be right back." And, without anyone having the chance to ask what her problem was, she left the three girls in confusion.

"Uhm?..." Dana and Max both stared at Kate in confusion.

"D-Don't look at me like that. I don't know what's going on with her either." She tried to defend herself. "Maybe she just needs to use the bathroom?"

"Or maybe she is scheming one of her evil plans to ruin your date, Max. "Stop saying things like that, Dana! She isn't like that… anymore."

"Juliet thought so as well until she got fucked over. I'm just saying that Max should be careful."

"Max didn't give me a reason to do anything to her, yet." The three girls were startled at the blonde girl's quick return, as their eyes jumped to Victoria who was standing in the door frame again.

"I, uhm… "Dana was caught off guard, and now an uncomfortable silence filled the room for a few moments, as the cheerleader tried to stutter an apology.

"Nevermind it. Anyways, I've got some spare stuff." She explained as she tossed it into Max's baffled face.

After freeing herself from the projectile that somehow managed to entangled itself with her, she looked at the things Victoria had given her.

_Clothes?_

They were… Nice. Nothing special or flamboyant, which was mostly due to the lack of information about the date, but pretty nonetheless.

A pretty tight, yet soft, cloth pants colored in a greyish-black tone in one hand, and in the other there was a white shirt that was intentionally too large.

"The classic white black combo, eh? That might work." Dana said after checking over the clothes for a few moments. "Then, we just need something cute to wear under the shirt. Something reddish maybe?"

"Oh, oh, I have a wine red t-shirt she could wear under it!" Kate exclaimed, excited to be able to share something as well.

"And it's supposed to be pretty warm tomorrow so we don't need to worry about a jacket either." Victoria gave the finishing blow before Max even had the chance to state her own opinion.

_Well, Looks like it's already sealed. Ahh, what could go wrong. Maybe just going with the flow for once will be a good thing._

"Ah, and I'll provide some make-up! Got myself some new lipstick that should go well with Kate's t-shirt."

"M-Make-up? But I never wear make-up."

Both Victoria and Dana simultaneously let out a sigh. They then looked at each other for a moment in awkward confusion, as both of them probably thought the same thing at that time, but then the blonde girl quickly stated, "That's the point. You need to look good, while not wearing anything fancy, because it may get dirty."

The cheerleader took over from there. "Exactly. So, the smartest thing to do would be to bring the focus away from the clothes. Nothing fancy or colorful. Instead, you're gonna let Chloe's heart skip with perfectly done maquillage."

"I, eh, well... That sounds... good, I guess?" Max was overwhelmed by all the help she was getting that she didn't even think about the reason for all of this at the moment.

_Wowser, even Victoria is lending me her stuff. That's really neat! I should probably stop staring at them like a goof and thank them!_

The freckled girl loudly cleared her throat, before facing the three girls before her with a serious expression. "Thanks guys. It's so cool of all of you to help me out. I owe you guys."

Kate smiled one of her a-million-watt-smiles, Dana let out a "Aww." and even Victoria was smiling, while looking at the floor with an expression that Max dared to read as embarrassment.

"I… I never wear them anyways. N-no big deal. You don't owe me, shit."

"Now, is the part where you're supposed to drop the tough girl act, Chase." The cheerleader pointed out with an eye roll.

"Seriously, Victoria, I didn't thought you would help me out that much, that's really cool of you." Max confessed.

"Ouch." The blonde girl responded, while her smile slowly disappeared. She knew that she hadn't been the greatest person so far, but being remind of it time after time started to annoy her as well. But before the queen bee could say anything she would regret later on, Maxine spoke up once again.

"But that's especially why I appreciate it even more! I mean let's be honest, we couldn't stand each other. But if you… If you need my help with anything, feel free to ask, okay?"

"If you put it that way… Can I have my clothes back?" Victoria asked with a toothy grin on her face.

"Don't be mean!" Kate motherly scolded the blonde girl once more.

…

Fortunate son by Creedence Clearwater was booming through the speakers of Chloe's truck, as it was dashing down the road. The goal was slowly looming on the horizon. Blackwell Academy. Her hands were sweating, and she was biting her lips nervously. But why was she in such a rush? Let's ask her!

_Fuck, fuck, fuck! Couldn't even finish binding my tie! Why didn't I remember that I had to fuel my fucking truck?! Shit, I probably look like a total idiot, dressed like I am…_

The blue haired girl was wearing a black suit, and a white shirt underneath. Yes. A suit. But most of the pieces were somewhat wrinkled, and said tie was hanging loosely around her neck. In all the rush She had totally forgotten that one should iron something like a suit, and was now cursing herself for it.

_Not too late yet! Still, have about five minutes! Everything is fine, Chloe. I told her I would be here around eight p.m._

She had been so obsessed to come up with an idea for the date that she hadn't really thought much about what she should wear. The only good thing about all the fuss was that she didn't have time to think about the fact that it was William's suit, before grabbing it and putting it on.

"Though, I'll be hella overdressed. I should've freaking told her at least what we're going to do, now she probably thinks that we're gonna eat some pizza and chill at mine." The punk said to herself. She groaned loudly before slowing down the old truck.

Before arriving at the school, she needed a second to catch her breath. She halted the vehicle for a moment, and nervously started fiddling with her tie. Somehow she managed to tie it, but even without a mirror she knew that it was done sloppy.

"Everything'll be good, Chloe. It's just Max." She reassured herself, but just seconds after that she started frowning.

_Shouldn't I be nervous especially because it is Max? Yeah brain, I know she's my girlfriend now, but that doesn't give me a reason to disappoint her._

She scratched her freshly dyed scalp, while missing her beanie covering it. She then decided that this was not the time to feel self-conscious. She turned the motor on again, and just a few moments later she was already entering the parking lot of the Academy.

The truck made one last turn and then the front light illuminated the whole place, revealing three girls sitting at the small stone step. In the dim light she could somehow make out who they were, but only saw their frames.

_Max brought company, eh? Looks like Dana and Kate._

The punk turned off the music before her eyes wandered to the group of girls, who was moving towards the grumbling car.

As Chloe's eyes found her girlfriend all her worries about being overdressed disappeared with an imaginary pop. Blood shot in her face as she started to frown, not because she didn't like what she saw, it was certainly not because of that, but rather because the punk couldn't believe that Max would put such an effort into looking good… _For me._

Dana had done solid work. If she tried to notice it, Chloe could see that Max was wearing make up. But she still looked like… Max. Yes, the cheeks were a bit redder than usual and her she was wearing some type of natural looking eyelash, which was unusual for her. But she was still Max. Not trying to fake it, but rather trying to accentuate it.

The small soft lips of Chloe's girlfriend somehow managed to look even more seductive than they usually did. But what really nailed it were the freckles. Oh, the freckles. Chloe would usually give everything to kiss them, but right now it was taking everything in her to not take a bite out of the smaller girl's face. She just looked too sweet. A voice, somehow sounding distant to the blue haired girl, startled her out of her trance.

"There you are. Already thought it would be you, after hearing the groaning of the undead engine." Max said, a cute little grin playing over lips, as she was leaning into the car, through the window.

Chloe wanted to greet the three girls standing next to her car. She wanted to compliment Max. Wanted to say that her clothes looked good. That she her face was the prettiest thing she had ever seen. She wanted to say so much, scream the three magic words into the universe, but her throat was as dry as it could be. So, instead of saying anything she stayed quiet, which in of itself was quite unusual for Chloe, and fiddled with the tie hanging over her chest.

"Aww, look at her. She lost her tongue. That's so cute." But Dana's comment was completely shut out. She could only pay attention to two blue eyes right in front of her, checking her suit out. Just now Chloe noticed that Maxine wasn't wearing her usual clothes as well. Looking at the small girl in the oversized white shirt was giving her a weird sensation. It felt as if someone was pushing her towards the girl in the window.

Then, the punk realized that this 'someone' was her hunger for her freckled girlfriend, which only intensified the rush of blood in her cheeks.

_Fucking shit! Stop blushing like a twelve year old!_

Obviously, that didn't work as planned. As the freckled girl noticed how her taller girlfriend was starting to glow, she small grin transformed into a toothy from-ear-to-ear-smile.

"W-Wanna get going?" Chloe finally managed to ask, thanking god, Jesus, or whoever for the help. After all, it was a miracle that she was able to bring those words out without making an even bigger fool out of herself.

"Sure."


	41. Not done loving you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit later, but double the length of a normal one! Didn't feel right to split it into two chapters

"Y-You look good." Chloe finally managed to say after about five minutes of silent driving.

"Uh, well, thank you." Max's answer sounded genuine, yet the punk could make out the faint enjoyment in her girlfriend's voice. She probably found it pretty entertaining to see Chloe so embarrassed. "Dana, Kate, and Victoria helped me like a lot."

On that the blue haired girl glanced at Max in surprise for a moment, before her eyes returned on the street. "Victoria, huh…"

"Yea, I was surprised too, though, I think that she's genuinely trying."

"Hmm. So, how come she wasn't there with Dana and Kate then?" The punk just couldn't bring it over her heart to trust the ex queen bee of Blackwell. Especially if she were getting closer to Max. There was a faint stinging in her stomach. Could that be jealousy? The punk quickly pushed this idea aside, after all she had more important things to pay attention to. For example a gorgeous small girl right next to her.

Max, not seeing the inner struggle of her girlfriend because she was looking out of the window, just shrugged. "Said she had other things to do. I think she was simply embarrassed."

"Wait, did you just say Victoria Chase was embarrassed? You high?"

"Well, she's not the only one playing the tough girl act, is she?" The brunette quipped back.

The punk just rolled her eyes on that. "Talking about someone I should know about, smartypants? Sounds like a pretty cool gurl." Max couldn't help but chuckle at the goofiness of her girlfriend. "Maybe said girl will shock you tonight by the way." Chloe then stated with a mysterious undertone in her voice.

"A new side hidden between all the punk, rock, and hipster? Count me intrigued!" Even if Max was teasing her girlfriend, she actually was getting more and more excited. So, instead of rambling about what Chloe could mean she decided to just ask the girl behind the wheel. "You gonna spill the beans, or will this be one of your surprises?"

"The later of course, duh. But don't worry nosy one, we're nearly there I think."

They were? As the freckled girl looked out of her window once more she actually couldn't orientate herself anymore. There was a thick wall of red leaves and brown wood on both sides of the road. But after a moment of concentrated staring she could make out the sea. On the left side of the car, behind the forest there were waves crashing on a small sand beach. Never before had she seen this place, so she concluded that Chloe must've found it after they were… separated as children.

_We're gonna go swim tonight? I mean, it's pretty warm for October and all, but the water is still getting pretty icy._

"Should've told me to pack some clothes to change, Chlo."

"As tempting as it is to see you in your undies again, we're not here to splish splash. Not today at least."

The last rays of the sun were tainting the whole area in red, luckily for Max because her blush was camouflaged thanks to the light. The truck slowly parked right next to where the sand was, and weirdly enough Chloe had made the effort to park in backwards, so that the cargo area was pointing towards the sea. Max didn't really think about it though. She just shook it off for a simple reason like having an easier time getting out of here again. She didn't notice the big blanket yet.

The punk went through her hair with one hand. With most of her blue strands combed to the back of her head Chloe fully revealed her ears, face, and neck for the first time today, and the freckled girl took a moment to eye her girlfriend. While biting her lips, an image of Chloe with a pony tail popped into Max head.

"This outfit really _suits_ you."

The punk was ready to let out a pained groan, but as her eyes met her girlfriend's she noticed just how intense Max's blue eyes were staring at her. A sudden wave of self-consciousness hit her, and she started fiddling with the loose tie again. The brunette couldn't help but smile at the bigger girl, and after a few seconds Chloe caught the taunting grin and puffed her cheeks in a playful pout.

"What? Can't I compliment my girlfriend?"

"You can compliment me when I actually put work into something. But I literally just put it on and dashed out of the door to not be late." The punk gave Max an apologetic shrug, who in return chuckled.

"Typical. But that's kind of your style. Though, that Explains why you didn't even iron it."

_So, she noticed it. Shit._

But before Chloe could feel even guiltier for it, a small, soft hand grabbed her own one. Two big blue balls were looking up to her as Max had shifted closer to her. "You're not seriously feeling shy _now_ out of all times, are you?"

This time the blue haired girl could withstand, even return, the gaze. Though, just moments later she somewhat regretted it. Staring at Maxine just made her realize once again how polished the freckled girl was. Even her hair was cut. Just one or two centimeters, but the punk still noticed the small change.

"Just look at you. You're beautiful." Chloe confessed her feelings, as she let out a big chunk of stored air.

The grin the smaller girl was wearing, slowly transformed into a smug smile. "They did good work, can't deny that."

"N-no, stop playing yourself down."

"That sounds cheap, coming from you." Max pointed out. "I didn't even know you posses a suit, not even speaking of wearing one." And while slowly moving her eyes up and down Chloe's body, she added, "Not complaining though."

Instead, of appreciation or smugness, a sudden sting hit the blue haired girl right in her heart. An unpleasant word nearly had escaped her lips. A word she hadn't used in a long time, because it always left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Father.

Chloe gulped, as her throat felt suddenly dry for no reason. She still had a smile on her lips, but Max could see that something else was hiding behind it. The punk was trying to do what she did best, hide an unpleasant emotion or memory from everyone, even herself. Be it anger or a smile, Max knew her girlfriend's flaws.

"Your dad's?" It sounded more like a surprised statement than an actual question.

Hearing the painful word, Chloe's gaze escaped through the windshield. "Shit. I just…"

"Would be a waste if you never wear it, right? Your dad would be happy to know that it was worn by someone as pretty as you."

A moment of unreadable silence created a nervous tension in Max's body. She knew that William was a sensitive topic, even if she was her girlfriend. That's why she was relieved when Chloe faced her again with a small smile on her face.

_A genuine one, for the record._

"You're right. I just… I don't want to push him out of my life any longer, y'know?"

"Hmhm" The brunette gave an agreeing hum, even if both of the girls knew that Max couldn't know how it must feel to lose her father. She noticed however that the bigger girl was struggling to let some of the pain finally vent tonight.

_I thought we would get a pause from all the heavy stuff tonight, this is so much more important._

Max would be there for Chloe if she needed her. Always.

"I… Thinking about it... I don't... I think I never… Damn…"

"Che. English. Please." The freckled girl said, as she gently grabbed her girlfriend's other hand, to show that it was not meant out of ill intent, but with a serious interest to understand the punk's stuttering.

A soft chuckle escaped Chloe's lips. "Sorry, miss Sass."

"What did you never, Chlo?" Max asked, voice full of concern.

The punk's face grimaced. "I never visited his grave." She confessed after a few seconds of inner and outer struggle.

"Then that's what we gonna do." Maxine determined for both of them. "… O-of course, only if you're okay with me coming along."

"What are you talking about? Without you I wouldn't dare to go a hundred yard near the damn graveyard. Just gonna warn you, there'll probably be crying, sobbing, and yelling."

Max rolled her eyes in return. "Yes, I would be more shocked if there wasn't."

"Not sure if that was a compliment or not." The blue haired girl retorted with a frown. Knowing that she wouldn't have to face it alone reassured Chloe.

"Let's just say I appreciate the honest gesture."

"Dork." Chloe couldn't hold a somewhat nervous laugh down any longer. She hadn't expected this evening to go in this direction. At all.

_This was supposed to be a relaxing day for the two of us! What am I doing? I'm hella screwing up already, am I not?_

"Now that the sappy shit is outta the way, let's get things rolling, Caulfield!" The sudden outburst of enthusiasm startled the smaller girl a bit, but she recovered herself quickly.

_Okay, looks like that was enough bottled up stuff coming out for one day. It's good though. She's becoming more and more like the old Chloe. When we were kids, she was just so happy all the time. I just hope I can be of help to her._

"What are ya doing? C'mon, Max the night is not young forever."

Just then Maxine noticed that the other girl was already outside, and she quickly hasted after her. But as she reached the taller girl, her eyes were already focusing on the same thing Chloe was staring at.

The last rays of the sunset were drowning the sky in a reddish orange. A few clouds were like abstract, yet beautiful sculptures. Even the water didn't seem as cold as it should for the time being. The light gave it a burning aura, and Max almost felt like jumping in.

"It's beautiful."

Instead, of giving an appropriate answer, Chloe turned around, touched Max's warm cheeks carefully and, as the brunette slowly tilted her head, she connected their lips. Without any hesitation the freckled girl returned the kiss, even went on her tiptoes to reach her girlfriend better. The punk felt how a tiny hand started massaging the hair on the back of her head. She gave a pleased humming against Max's lips in return, and grabbed the smaller girl by her waist to pull them even closer. Chloe couldn't suppress the smile that overcame her lips after getting licked by Max's tongue, as if they were beginning to be let in. As she gave her permission to enter the mouth, she could swear to feel sparks shooting through her body.

Would it ever get boring to do this? Probably not.

But at some point both of them needed some good old oxygen, and pulled their heads away. Though, their foreheads were still connected, and noses gently wrestling with each other.

Through their eyes they looked right into each other soul.

For some reason Chloe felt obligated to apologize. "Sorry... for starting our date so dim. Wasn't planned, if you haven't figured that yourself already."

"You already know I don't mind."

"I do, but it feels good to hear it."

Max tried to fight the little twitch of her lips. "… Anyways, what now?"

Taking a small step back, after internally struggling if she really should let Max go, Chloe said, "You probably asked yourself already why there's a big blanket over my truck. Well, here is the ans-"

"Wait there is one?" The brunette was taken aback as she turned around. How didn't she see that any sooner?

"Maybe something was distracting you?" The punk said, wiggling with her eyebrows.

"Well, can't say you're wrong." Maxine shrugged in return. "So, what's under the blanket?"

"Excellent question!" Chloe stated while hastily making a few big steps towards the truck again. With one big _swoosh_ the tarp like blanket was showing his hidden treasures.

A big basket filled with all kinds of finger food, a few bottles of juice and water and one bottle of wine, were all resting on… were that Chloe's bed sheets?

Noticing the question writing over Max's face the blue haired girl quickly explained, "I didn't find any other, and I... uhm, is that weird? I could've asked mom, but eh, I didn't think it would look so weird until now."

"You were going for a candlelight dinner?"

"Y-Yes? I just thought that… We could use some chill time. After all the shit the last few weeks, just snuggling together and eating something delish sounded pretty good to me."

The brunette let out a sudden chuckle. "Haven't seen you this nervous in a long time. You never ramble that much normally."

"Ha, well… The thing is, uhm… I kind of wanted this to be perfect."

"It is."

"It is?"

"Yes, dork, it is."

"G-Good."

Just a few moments later the two of them climbed inside the load area, and settled for a comfortable position to eat and cuddle at the same time. Chloe was resting her head against the driver's cabin, cushioned by a big pillow, and her legs were stretched out, nearly reaching the end of the wall. Max was caught between the punk's legs, the back of her head snuggled against the punk's chest. They felt a comfortable warmth flowing through their body, not just thanks to being sandwiched by two warm bed sheets, but also through each other's own heat. Not even the cold metallic floor was noticeable anymore, thanks to the fluffy sheet they were laying on.

Chloe had actually prepared two small lanterns that spent enough light for Max, so that she wouldn't get uncomfortable when it got darker. They were only glowing weak, but the freckled girl didn't mind. The presence of the punk was more than enough to let her stay calm, and also the dim light made her feel like Max and her girlfriend were in some type of bubble. Just them, with the stars above and the waves below them.

They had some small talk, but for the most part they just ate something, cuddled with each other, and enjoyed the scenery.

_I nearly forgot how beautiful mother earth can be, after that fucked tornado. But the bright stars and the soothing waves truly are breathtaking._

"Why did we never go here as kids? It's so relaxing here."

"Isn't it? Sadly, I just found this place about two years ago. The best thing about this beach is that for some reason nobody comes here. I can't even remember another car driving on the road we came from."

"Most probably wait till they are at some town before they start diving into the waves."

"True. But for me this was kind of like an escape sometimes as well. Not American Rust level but still pretty good."

"For you?"

The punk gave a positive hum before explaining, "Yep. Just me. If Rachel ever was here then it wasn't with me."

 _Today must be a good day._ Max thought to herself. _First William, now Rachel, without too much sadness. We're making progress!_ But the freckled girl also knew how hard it was to talk about the never returning friend. So, instead Maxine decided to change the topic.

"So, how is your first week after accepting the life of a working class person?"

"Pretty good, pretty good." Chloe answered, chewing some bread while trying not to crumb on the head right under her. "It is pretty hipsterish, but hey I've got you. By now I'm pretty resistant to the illness, I think."

"I bet literally everyone asks you about your hair."

"Oh yeah, it's funny. I try to tell each person a different story, so that they think I'm pretty _and_ mysterious. No need to elaborate the lame truth of me just wanting to rebel against step… David. " The hand resting on Max's stomach suddenly left the brunette, who in return gave an -somewhat- angry weep. The big hand had left a tingling sensation of want.

The freckled girl could hear, and feel how the girl under her was taking a sip of water, before the hand returned to its original place. Max's own one followed shortly after, and was now resting on top of it, thumb running over the back of Chloe's hand.

"Can't escape you anymore, can I?"

"Never." Max confirmed.

"But I can't eat like that!" The bigger girl nagged, with a sly undertone in her playful voice. "We need to find a solution for this big, urgent, and vile problem, don't we?"

"I've got you, Price. Your hero is here." The freckled girl quipped back while grabbing one of the turnovers, and directing it towards where she thought Chloe's face was . "You need to guide me though. I don't have eyes on my back, yet."

"A bit higher… No, to the left! W-Wait!" The turnover landed on Chloe's nose, which decided to take a dip in the cream inside of it. "Oh, yuck!" The blue haired girl shrieked while reaching for a tissue. "You ass. You did that on purpose."

"I never knew one could eat with her nose. You are really full of surprises, Chloe Price." The smaller girl, now sitting up, started laughing lustily, while also trying to help her girlfriend. "C'mon I know the perfect way to clean you up." The smaller girl said, while turning around, so that she was sitting right in front of Chloe.

But before the punk could ask what Maxine meant by that she could already feel the wet tongue lick over her cheek. She grumbled something about, "Should have seen it coming." and then her face fell into a smile as well. "Like what you taste, Caulfield."

"Even better than Joyce bacon."

"That's big coming from yo-" But then the rough feeling of an alien tongue returned again. And again. Chloe, who was clean by now, just then realized the look on the smaller girl's face.

A small animal like grin, combined with half opened dreamy eyes, which were staring at her. But there was also a shade of red on both her cheeks as Max said "You taste good."

Chloe could feel how a torrent of blood shot right into her face.

_Good, she didn't seriously say that just now, did she? She did?! Jesus Christ, how can you not be a freaking succubus._

But then, as Maxine's tongue touched her lips again, her mind went dark. The punk slung her arms around Max's waist, pulling her in, and started nibbling at the smaller girl's lips, until they decided to give up. As they cleared the way to the forbidden fruit, Chloe's tongue didn't hesitate to enter Max's mouth. After a short while she shifted her attention to the neck of her girlfriend. The punk could hear her name being moaned as she started kissing Max's neck. The sound of it echoed through Chloe's whole body, and she couldn't help it as her nails dug deeper into the brunette's skinny waists.

Going through Chloe's soft hair, Max realized that she would never get enough of this feeling. She loved touching her girlfriend. She loved being touched by her, although, she needed some kind of countermeasure of the punk's neck biting. It was too much to bear, without getting turned on. But at the same time she didn't want her girlfriend to stop. It just felt too good and-

" _Chloe…"_

The soft moan escaped her lips without having any control over it. That was all she could bring up. As if the blue haired girl was a vampire, sucking out the energy right from her neck. For a few moments the freckled girl pressed her eyes shut, only focused on feeling the kisses. Then, as she opened them again, a tasty looking ear was right in front of her face. Without any thought to it she gave it a loving gentle bite. What she got from her little venture was worth it though.

" _Ahh."_

A groaned, yet pleased squeal irrupted Maxine's ears. It was the first time that she had heard a sound so soft and fragile, yet so mesmerizing, coming from the blue haired girl. She slid closer so that they were pressed together so tightly that Max could feel the fast heartbeat of her girlfriend.

The brunette was a bit startled when she felt a raw hand touch the bare skin of her back. But as the fingers started trailing along her spine, it was already forgotten. Each knoll was like a dart of warm electricity shooting through her body. With her neck and back being worked on at the same time, Max totally forgot to do anything herself, hands lazily resting on Chloe's shoulders.

Then, her eyes shot open, and with the last bit of energy she had in her, Max removed herself from the bigger girl. Or at least she tried because Chloe simply pulled her back in, using the two hands she still had on the freckled girl's waist.

_Doesn't she understand? We're alone and…_

Before her train of thought could ramble on, the punk carefully pushed both of them to the ground, so that she was now on top of Maxine. Using her two arms as pillars to not fall on the smaller girl, her deep blue eyes gazed down on her girlfriend.

The freckled girl, observing how the stars above them were playfully hiding in the blue hair that was falling into Chloe's face. Did she just feel how her heart skipped a beat? She pursed her lips, but even that couldn't stop herself from smiling.

_Chloe in the suit. Chloe with her blue eyes and hair. Chloe with the big stupid grin on her face. Just Chloe being Chloe._

A chuckle escaped Max's mouth. "I've such a teen crush on you, Che." She mumbled.

The punk, having a smug expression all over her face, then descended, rubbing their noses together. As they started kissing each other again, the freckled girl was pushed into the bed sheets, and could feel how a leg was shifting between her thighs. Without controlling it, a weak moan left her mouth, sending a shiver through the blue haired girl, who couldn't help but intensify the kiss even more.

Max was at her wits end. What would come next? Were they really going to?... Out of all places… But was that important right now? No, the only important thing now was right above her. Her small hands started playing with the first button of her girlfriend's jacket, and with a _plop_ it revealed a bit of the punk's cleavage. Max had just found her second favorite part of Chloe's body.

"Getting greedy, Caulfield?" Was being whispered into her eye, and she tilted her head towards the sweet voice of her girlfriend.

_Heh, she caught me staring._

The brunette wasn't ashamed of it, and instead started fiddling with the second one. "Have been for a while now." She whispered back, scared that a loud noise would destroy the bubble of love they were in.

The leg, between Max's tights, was now carefully pressed against her. One of the punk's big hands was playfully running along her revealed collarbone, leaving a burning sensation every time the fingers moved away.

It was all a big tease, the freckled girl knew that much. But she couldn't even beg for anything, her mouth was being invaded by an alien tongue after all.

Then, the hand on her collar suddenly left her, but the smaller girl didn't even bother to open her eyes, knowing that it would be somewhere else as compensation soon.

Although she expected it, as Chloe's hand and touched her bare stomach directly she inhaled sharply through her nose in surprise. A weird tingling feeling went through Maxine's whole body. For some reason she wanted to run away, and at the same time she wanted this to happen. Was that the origin of the saying butterflies in your stomach? Although, the urge to touch the bigger girl as well was nearly overwhelming, so she didn't ponder long on that topic.

It was so much more fun to focus on the tingling touch of Chloe's around her navel after all. But the punk didn't have much left that held her back from devouring the girl under her that's why her hand didn't linger there for long. Instead, it slowly creeped upwards until it found the treasure, giving Max's small breast a gentle squeeze.

The blue haired girl felt how the smaller girl sighed against her mouth, sounding somewhat pleased, yet surprised. Feeling Max through the lingering just wasn't enough. It was good, really good, but not enough. Chloe wanted more. She needed more.

As she separated her head from her girlfriend's, Max let out a quiet whine. Then, she noticed exactly what Chloe's intention was and helped her girlfriend get the shirt out of the way as quick as possible. Maxine threw it out of the cargo area, not even caring at the moment if Victoria's shirt would get dirty, she was way too focused on not being too embarrassed.

Seeing her girlfriend's torso without any layer of clothes blocking the few for the first time, stunned the blue haired girl. Not for the first time today, she didn't know what to do, or where to start. She wanted to feel Max everywhere all at once. Greed was clouding her mind. But at the same time a voice in her head was telling her to take things slowly.

Shortly after the shirt was removed the colder night air was starting to make its present noticeable. So, instead of waiting any longer, even if Max was somewhat enjoying being eyed by Chloe, she decided to take things in her own hand, literally. She grabbed one of the punk's hands and slowly guided it towards her chest.

Chloe's blue eyes followed the movement until she realized what the goal of it was. The joined hands stopped over the soft flesh for a moment. Was she scared? She had imagined doing this several times now.

_What if I mess up? It's her first time after all…_

But then as her fingertips lightly touched the breast, it reignited the fire inside of the bigger girl's stomach, nearly let her explode to be exact. Her hand started massaging Max, who in return let out a sigh, which drove Chloe even more into madness. The punk licked her lips, before lifting the smaller girl's back just enough to reach the straps of the bra she was wearing. She was happy that the damn thing was made idiot friendly, she didn't need more than five seconds before the bra was resting next to them, and Max was finally revealing her natural beauty.

In a wave of self-consciousness the freckled girl then mumbled, "T-They're quite s-small, so I don't know, maybe you don't…"

Chloe just rolled her eyes, she knew that Maxine was saying this just out of shyness, nothing else. So, instead of letting a half assed answer out of her mouth, she decided to let something else into it.

The brunette was still rambling about not being as pretty as someone else, when she suddenly let out a surprised moan. As she heard that her plan had worked and Max was being silent now, the punk, having the time of her life running over the pink nipple with her tongue, was wearing a gigantic smile on her face.

The freckled girl didn't know what to do anymore, and just dug her hands into Chloe's blue hair. The punk gave the small breast a gentle bite in return, which made Max's body twitch for a second.

"Trying to escape me now?" The bigger girl teased the girl in her arms.

Maxine couldn't speak, but energetically shook her head as an answer, which made Chloe chuckle for a moment, before her focus went back onto the bare flesh in front of her. While one of her hands was massaging one, her mouth was working on the other one, tingling a sweet moan out of the brunette once in awhile. But then she noticed that Maxine was trying to say something under her breath.

"T-This… This is so u-unfair."

"Hmm? Y-You don't like…" For a moment there was this numbing anxiety that she had fucked up, but Chloe was reassured with Max's next words.

"Y-You're still in your too-good-looking s-suit."

"And what do you plan to do against it" The blue haired girl teased with a smug smile.

"I…" Max bit her own underlip, looking away shyly.

"If you don't say it, it won't happen." Chloe said, giving Max's nipple another lick.

With a somewhat broken voice the freckled girl then finally stated, "I'll t-take it off!"

"You gonna strip me? Oh oh, you nasty girl." Chloe couldn't help herself. It was just in her nature to be a teaser. The big flush on Max's face was a good indicator that it was working.

"You made me one!" She tried to defend herself, while fiddling with the last button of Chloe's jacket. The punk was nice enough to throw the jacket off herself. Her courage somehow had vanished with it. Now, with just her white shirt on, she wasn't feeling the bashfulness from just a moment ago.

_This is... real. Maxine Caulfield and me… She's beautiful… Tell the me from just two months ago that I would share a… truck with my childhood friend and I would've laughed at him._

The shirt was off before the punk realized it herself. Max, full of eagerness, didn't want to waste any time. It was her time to tease back. Or at least she would try. The blue bra Chloe was wearing -of course it was blue- was hiding the true size of her breasts quite a bit. When it fell down the brunette was startled for a moment, not expecting how big they were in nature… and soft…. and warm… How did she never notice how awesome boobs feel? She had cuddled with them a bunch of times by now. Well, always through clothes, but still! As she started fondling it even more, she could hear a reaction coming out of Chloe's mouth.

The quiet moan let a shiver run down her spine. Did she just make Chloe feel good?

Then, with a shriek, she got pushed into the blanket again.

"Y-you really…" The bigger girl didn't finish her sentence, instead she descended and kissing her girlfriend. At the same time Maxine could feel how fingers ran down from her chest, over her navel, and stopped at her pants.

 _This is really going to happen…_ Max thought, full of excitement and fear.

Her pants were slowly pulled away, by Chloe. There was a stop once her undies were revealed, where the punk simply admired the girl under her, and then with one last pull a pair of pants flew into the sand, next to the truck. Both of them gulped, while staring at each other.

"I-I'm really going to… Is… Is that okay?"

"At this point I don't think you should ask anymore, Che."

"Y-Yeah, right."

The goofy tenseness of her girlfriend was a good distraction of the overall situation. At least for a few seconds, it was. Then, the hand reached Max's panties, and slowly started rubbing over her through the layer. Max immediately jerked up, taking Chloe, who was still kissing her, with her.

For a moment the punk froze up, thinking she did something bad, but as she saw her girlfriend's expression, biting lips and half closed eyes, she knew that she was doing the right thing. So, instead of panicking, the blue haired girl massaged one of Maxine's breast with one hand, the other one with her mouth, and with her free hand she gently moved along the lines of Max's crotch. She gave her best not giving in to the beast inside of her stomach, which wanted nothing more than to savagely devour the small girl in her hands.

 _Carefully, gentle, and… slow._ She reminded herself.

Hearing Max's breathing get sharper and sharper, while her fingers duck into the back of her skull, was the biggest turn on Chloe had ever experienced.

The freckled girl on the other hand was absolutely disoriented. Hands were all over her body. Kisses were being planted on sensitive spots over and over again. There was a rising heat oozing out from between her legs, too. The hand that was in said place was sending waves of pleasure through her core, each time it touched her. She was floating in an atmosphere with nothing but Chloe and her. Scared of falling out of this bubble, she slung her arms around the bigger girl's neck, and pushed her against her chest, which Chloe didn't seem to mind at all.

The fire in her stomach was growing hotter and hotter, and she could feel how she lost the control over most parts of her body. Then, as if pulled back into reality the movement around her tights suddenly stopped, and for just a moment Max was confused, not understanding what was going on. But then she felt a tug on her panties and understood. Frantically, Max raised her hips, making it easier to pull them out of the way.

Chloe let herself some time, slowly getting them over her girlfriend's knees. She fully indulged the moment, while also noticing the eagerness of the smaller girl to once again feel what she just felt. The blue haired girl couldn't stop herself from grinning in anticipation. Before today sex had been all about feeling good for her. An egoistic contract with someone else she only willingly agreed on, because it promised some kind of pleasure in her otherwise lonely existence.

But this… _This_ was different. As a matter of fact, she didn't even care about her own lust at all. The only thing on her mind was teasing an even greater reaction out of the brunette. How would she sound? How does she look when she reaches her peak? How does she taste? All those question swirled inside her head, and she knew that she would soon have an answer to all of those.

_But first…_

Although she would love to make Max beg for it, this was something she could do later on. For now Chloe simply moved her finger over the entrance, which was dripping wet by now, and started massaging it carefully.

The immediate reaction of the smaller girl was to buckle against the hand, while a whimper escaped through her teeth.

It… tingled. But not in a way in which you want it to stop or anything. No, this was a different kind of tingling. One that numbed the area around her tight just as much as it clouded her mind. She bit her lips, chin resting on Chloe's head, who was still nibbling on one of her breasts.

The burning sensation in her tummy was only growing stronger and stronger over the moments, and the pulses of pleasure made her small body twitch again and again. It was nearly unbearable. If Chloe didn't start soon, she would need to do it herself. Her hips pressed against the hand, which was annoyingly passive. Her whole body was itching for it by now.

With a breathless voice, Maxine managed to ask one last time. "C-Chloe… Please… I can't…"

The bigger girl understood. As much as she wanted to take things slowly and enjoy herself, Max sounded almost as if she were in pain.

The freckled girl could feel how something changed. Instead of slowly running along the entrance two fingers were playfully pressed against it. The fire was growing, reaching her chest already. She could feel her heartbeat hammering against her rib cage, and her breathing was getting faster and faster. The two fingers slowly entered Max and were immediately greeted by fleshy walls clenching onto them. The fire ignited an explosion, overwhelming the small girl, who could do nothing else but tighten the grip around her girlfriend. Hundreds of shivers shot through her very core, as she held her breath for a few seconds.

There was a groan, coming from the depths of Max's throat, shooting through into the dark of the night. She couldn't help it, the sudden wave of pleasure hit like a runaway train. For a few more moments the world was spinning around her and a few smaller pulses of pleasure were still reaching her. Each one let Max moan Chloe's name, in a sweet low voice.

"D-Did you just?..."

"Huh?"

Maxine was sobered in a flash. Chloe had barely touched her and she… Did she? Was that? Her whole head started glowing in embarrassment. She looked down at her vagina and just then realized that Chloe's fingers had barely entered her.

"I…" She couldn't talk, thanks to the exhaustion from the event just moments ago.

"Shh." The punk shushed her girlfriend, before she could stammer something stupid out of embarrassment. For a few more seconds Max was trying to come up with some kind of excuse, even if there was no reason for it, but then, as she heard a hearty laughter coming from the blue haired girl, she gave up and instead joined Chloe's chuckling.

"You seriously just came? I didn't do anything yet. That's hella cute!"

"S-Shut up!" Max retorted, trying to shove the bigger girl, while still wearing a smile as well. But instead of another mean comment, Chloe gently pushed Max into the bed sheets, while laying herself next to her. They were still both out of breath, and now laying on the comfortable blanket, the freckled girl felt a sudden sleepiness hit her. She was just about to give in when something in the back of her mind stopped her. There was still something else she needed to do.

"Chloe?"

"Yes, babe?" Her voice was right next to Maxine's ear.

"W-what about… You?"

"I'm happy."

"But-"

"I've never been happier in my life. If you want to do something for me, cuddle with me while we watch the stars. Yes, today I'll be sappy." Chloe stated, while embracing the girl next to her into a hug.

Snuggled into the bigger girl, Max couldn't do anything against the tired feeling sinking into her bones. But she could at least fulfill the punk's wish. While resting her head on Chloe's collar, the two of them looked in the sky above them. From time to time she let herself glimpse the only thing that could rival the beauty of the stars. After all, neither of them had cared to cover themselves yet.

As they lay there in peace, Max slowly fading into the realm of dreams, Chloe pulled the second blanket above them, so that they would stay warm for the time being.

Neither of them knew who said it first, and it's not important because both of them were speaking from their heart.

"I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now ^^
> 
> What a chapter! This was the first time I wrote something this smutty so have mercy on me! No, seriously if there was anything weirder than usual please feel free to tell me ^^


	42. Wringing

For the first few seconds, Max thought that she was still sleeping in the truck, together with Chloe, thanks to the punk's bed sheet. But then she realized the mattress she was laying on and understood that she was actually in her girlfriend's room.

The fact that she could only vaguely remember the way home was making her feel happy, and at the same time somewhat scared.

So, we _… God, I just hope she won't brag about it. But knowing her…_

She was a bit worried that Chloe would do something like that, but somehow the mere thought also forced a smile on her face. Max then decided that she should at least check how late it was. She tried to raise her body and just then noticed a hand on her… chest?

The freckled girl stared at it in disbelieve for a second, before she followed the arm connected to it and finally spotted a blue haired girl still snoring into her pillow. It was weird, but after yesterday she somehow didn't mind anymore at all. Instead, she let her body fall back into the sheets while still reaching for her phone. The first thing she noticed was a message from Dana

 **Dana:** how was it? you own details!

She just rolled her eyes and decided that she would answer the cheerleader later. Then, her eyes went big with surprise as she saw how late it actually was.

_What? Is it already past eleven? Wowser, I slept for good twelve hours. Haven't done that in a while… No nightmares, no panic attacks, just comfortable sleeping. And I know who I have to blame for that._

Max concluded while her eyes wandered back to the girl next to her. Chloe was drooling a bit, and Max couldn't help but chuckle as she noticed it.

The weak vibration was enough to wake the punk, who grumbled something into the pillow, before slightly opening her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the soft thing in her hand, she gave it a confused squeeze and then jerked the hand back as it was slapped by Maxine.

"Whoops."

"Don't whoops me, perv."

"G'morning, babe."

Max rolled her eyes. "Morning."

"How are you?" Chloe's voice was sober now, filled with genuine concern about Max well-being.

The freckled girl couldn't help that she sometimes thought it was cute how much her girlfriend worried.

She tends to overdo it sometimes, but still knowing that she cares is just so…

"Great. I feel amazing, to be honest. A bit sleepy but... " Max stopped once she saw the snarky grin on the bigger girl's face. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"No, no, it's fine. Just go on."

The smaller girl narrowed her eyes, but obviously knowing what this was all about she couldn't take herself anymore serious than Chloe did. While glaring at the punk, thus she couldn't suppress the smile any longer. "Just stop teasing me already. It was great, okay? The food was great, the location perfect and… D-Don't make me fucking say it out loud, it's embarrassing!" Max sighed. With her flustered face, she just stared at the punk next to her.

"Hmm, maybe I won't believe it if I don't hear it."

On that, the brunette frowned. "Are you trying to force me to say it?"

"Well, looks like you were more open last night. Figuratively and literally."

"Oh my god, you did not just say that!" Maxine nearly yelled, the glowing red now even reaching her neck and ears.

"And quicker to give in." Chloe gave her girlfriend a wink before she couldn't keep the laughter trapped anymore. It bursted out of her, and despite all the grumbling, cursing, and shoving Max did the blue haired girl wasn't able to stop.

"Sometimes I … don't love you as much as I usually do, you know that!" The freckled girl had expected it. This wouldn't be the last time Chloe would make fun of it. It was after all part of who Chloe was, so Max couldn't really dislike it.

"That-" The bigger girl fake sniffed to sound hurt by what her girlfriend just said. "That was really… really adorable what you just said."

"And you're a mean dork!" Maxine exhaled sharply but didn't fight the two long arms that slung around her to pull her into a hug. "It's really embarrassing, Che."

There was a low " _Hihi._ " Before the punk answered with, "I know. That's what makes it so funny."

The rest of the morning was pretty harmless. Maxine was a bit wobbly on her legs, which earned her of course a few side comments, but aside from that they had their usual breakfast with Joyce and enjoyed each other companies a little longer before the freckled girl explained that she should get going sooner or later. She still had to survive the next wave of exams and knew that studying would be the best thing to do right now.

"Can't you do that some other day?" Chloe pouted as she sat next to her girlfriend inside the rusty truck.

"Yes, I can, and I will. Just that I'll study today as well. Sorry.

"If you're really sorry, kiss me, nerd." Max rolled her eyes but didn't decline either. She shifted closer to the blue haired girl, wanting to give her a peck, but in the last moment Chloe reached forward and pulled the smaller girl in. Max was a bit surprised at first, but soon gave in and indulged in the kissing just like Chloe. Their soft lips melted into each other, at least until the blue-haired girl decided to playfully bit her girlfriend's lip, which brought a smile to Maxine's face.

As they finally separated, after needing a few moments of catching their breath, the bigger girl asked, "Do you really want a Sunday without _this_?"

The brunette let out a pained whine. "You're making this hard, Che…" And for a moment it seemed like Max would change her mind, as she gazed into her girlfriend's deep blue eyes. But then she shook her head as if she were trying to wake up from some type of dream and said with a steady voice. "It's not like I'll be far away. You can come pick me up tomorrow and we'll go eat something, how does that sound?"

The punk couldn't hide her toothed grin. It was just so adorable how weak Max was when it came to Chloe.

 _As if it isn't the other way around as well._ She corrected herself quickly.

"I don't like promises, Caulfield. It should at least be a place where they serve my favorite food."

"Don't you think us always going to Two whales for the bacon and eggs is a good thing?"

Chloe's grin grew wryer. "Close, but recently I found a new thing that I just love eating." To make the innocent freckled girl finally understood she wiggled with her eyebrows. Max's face exploded in red as she finally realized what the bigger girl was talking about.

"Y-You dork!" She exclaimed flustered. But the punk could see the smile that Maxine was trying to hide with her hands.

…

Her smartphone was vibrating over and over again. It was getting harder to ignore, but Max really needed to write the essay about the photo Mr. Walker had given her.

_Some weird guy holds up a flower while being threatened by soldiers. Shot in the sixties. It's always about what the teacher wants to hear so._

The only problem was that Max, despite being trained at -just- watching people thanks to her rather lonely life back in Seattle, she couldn't get a read on the new teacher. At one moment he seemed almost like a clown, even making fun of other students or teachers, and then mere seconds later he was dead serious again.

**Bzz Bzz**

_Just what could he want me to write? Our last topic was colors, but this is a black and white one… Maybe I should focus on the symbolic behind it?_

**Bzz Bzz**

_Let's see… Is it about rebelling against something you don't want? That sounds lame… Fighting against the idea of war? That's bett-_

**Bzz Bzz**

The freckled girl let out a loud groan, while finally giving in and looking at the screen of her smartphone. To her surprise, only one of the messages was actually from Chloe. She skipped the others and started to read what her girlfriend had written her.

 **Chloe:** now with frank gone I don't even have anything to chill with. He was the only seller around weed know if there was someone else

The freckled girl just rolled her eyes. Did she expect something else from the blue-haired girl? No, not really. And the brunette was happy with it. There shouldn't be anything serious going on in their lives. This was good. Just goofing around, making some terrible jokes, and loving each other. Neither of them needed anything else.

Then, she looked at the two other messages. One was from Dana, who was still trying to make Max talk about the date. She would probably tease the cheerleader a bit more for now.

But what truly caught her attention were the texts from Victoria. Yes, the humble Victoria Chase had pitied herself to actually write the lowly Maxine Caulfield.

 **Victoria:** so don't tell me all my hard work was wasted

 **Victoria:** kate told me that you didn't talk about it yet. Seeking more attention than usual? :)

Queen Chase was… nosy? Aside from the usual jab -Max was _almost_ certain that it was just Victoria's weird kind of humor- it looked like the blonde was actually interested in what had happened yesterday.

 _Or maybe she just wants to hear that she was such a great help, just so that she feels like a better person again._ A bitter voice in the brown-haired head warned Max. But Kate was giving her a chance, and she trusted her friend's intuition. She should try to be nice to Victoria. Emphasis on the trying part.

 **Max:** pretty good actually

 **Max:** thanks for ur help again! Never expected the mighty queen of Blackwell to reach out for the common folk! ;D

An answer came almost immediately.

 **Victoria:** Ha, you bitch. At least you've accepted your place in society.

The two girls sent each other a few more playful insults before the brunette reminded herself that she still needed to work on this damn text, and threw her telephone on the bed. Now, with it out of reach, she started working again.

Afterward, Max fell, mind exhausted from the damn homework, onto her bed. She snuggled under her bed sheets, trying to find the comfiest position. But something was missing to make it perfect. She already knew what it was.

_Gee, once you are hooked on Chlo-pillows you can't go back._

From there, her mind started to wander. So, this was the third week, they were about to enter. There was a lot of chaos and shit going down, yes, but… They were still alive. _Chloe_ was still alive. Once again Maxine was overwhelmed by a mixture of happiness and worry. What if something would happen next week? Who said Sean Prescott would leave them now?

But the scariest feeling that was hidden in a dark corner in the back of her mind most of the time, was the idea of Chloe losing all of those… Memories. _Again_! The freckled girl didn't want anyone else. She wanted this Chloe. Not another version of her who didn't know what they had already been through together. Not another Chloe who probably still hated her. Not another Chloe who didn't… Who hadn't been with her.

The cramping tension in her stomach loosened up a bit at the thought of last night.

_As long as we're together, everything will be fine. I just… I don't want this to be my first experience. I want this to be our first one!_

Without a say in the matter, Max was reminded of last night, and despite all of her concerns, a dorky grin formed on her face.

_So, we really did it, huh… But… We've just been together for what? Two weeks? Isn't that… I don't know… too fast? Is it normal like that? Or are we rushing things? Gee, I really have no idea what I'm getting myself into, am I?_

…

The next morning was actually pretty much was Max expected. She woke up a bit earlier than usual, which was a blessing because her hair was an absolute mess. She quickly grabbed the few toiletries in her possession and headed for the bathroom. On her way, she could hear a violin being played and was happy that Kate was feeling up to it again. After a hot bath, she felt almost reborn.

As the freckled girl made her way back towards her room, towel lazily slung around her neck, an all so familiar voice called out to her.

"Yo, Max! Where do you think you're going!?" Dana yelled through the whole corridor. As everyone fell silent, she could almost feel how their eyes were digging through her. "Spill. It. Out, Caulfield!" The cheerleader made herself clear while waving Max over.

"I still need to dry my hair, though."

"I got a hairdryer in my room. We can do it there."

Nope, she wouldn't get away. They still had about thirty minutes before class would start, and Dana would use this time for her interrogation.

With no other course of action, she made her way towards Dana's room, before being once again held back by a voice calling for her.

"Ha, don't wanna miss you being flustered as fuck," Victoria said while catching up to the small girl. "This'll be good."

Max furrowed. _This'll be a nightmare! But otherwise they'll never stop pestering me about it, will they?_

As they reached the room and entered, Dana was already sitting on her bed, untangling the wire of the dryer. As she realized that Max and Victoria had arrived, she patted the place next to her. "Come over here, we don't want you getting a cold from that wet hair of yours."

"Sure. You have time for caring as long as you get ammunition for slandering."

"Hey, it's not slander if it's true, right?" Dana quipped back with a wink. "But seriously, I wouldn't just talk about the private life of a friend of mine." The words weren't really meant as a defense because the cheerleader was staring at Victoria, who was still standing in the door frame.

The blonde just rolled her eyes. "And I would?"

"You tell me, Chase."

"Isn't it too early for your cage fighting simulation, girls?" Max tried to make peace, but the truth was that she had thought similar things already.

_But to be honest, I don't think too many people will actually care. Most of them already know that Che and I are together anyways, so I really couldn't care less if they knew that we had sex._

Dana let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Let's put our differences aside for now, after all, you've got a story to tell!"

After settling down on the bed Max let her hair be dried by Dana while starting to tell them how the date went. She didn't get far, though because the two girls took turns in interrupting her little story. Sometimes with questions, sometimes with snarky comments, where the freckled girl simply rolled her eyes.

"So, you were having a romantic candle light dinner after all. I can't believe Kate was right…"

"Me neither, but Chloe really gave her best. And we were pretty lucky that it was quite the warm night."

"Why? Didn't you say you had blankets."

"Well, yes. But…" Realizing that Max had said too much, her cheeks grew a faint shade of red, and her eyes sunk to the ground. "Well…"

"No Way!" Dana yelled. "How was it?"

"How was what?"

On that Victoria sighed. "You couldn't have been more obvious."

Although she was embarrassed, the freckled girl felt a weird type of proudness. Being able to brag with _Chloe Price_ felt great to be exact. So, instead of beating around the bush, she simply told them how -most of it- went down.

"Aww, your story is just so fucking sweet, I can't believe it," Dana said afterward.

"Be careful or you'll get diabetes." Max tried to crack a joke, but instead of laughing at the cheerleader's pained expression, she frowned once she saw Victoria's face. The blonde girl looked… concerned. "Everything alright, Victoria? Don't tell me it's because-"

"No, it's not because of you and Chloe." She clarified immediately while raising both her hands in defense."

"But…"

"But… Did you talk with Kate about this yet?"


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's late. Too much is happening at the moment. I'm sorry but I can't promise that I'll get chapters out faster for the moment :/
> 
> Sorry :P

Time was moving way too slowly. Sitting in Mr. Walker's photography class was almost like using her powers. She just wanted school to end so that she could finally talk with Kate.

Victoria did have a point. Kate didn't know yet that she and Chloe have had sex, and Max did not know how her friend would react to that.

_But she has known about our relationship for a while now, why should she decide to dislike it now out of all times? Ugh, fuck you, Vicky! I can't even focus on Mr. Walker`s class!_

The freckled girl couldn't help but stare at her Christian friend. How would she react? Would she be disgusted? Would she be reasonable?

_Just how do gay couples work through something like this? We can't just stop loving us, can we?_

Max was slowly getting more and more agitated. There was no apparent reason for her anger, but the mere thought was enough to make her stomach seize in pain.

_The unfairness of the world is to blame!_

Yet at the same time, she couldn't be angry at anyone. Kate hadn't done anything and even Victoria was just concerned, or a pretty good actor. Max wasn't sure about that. Though, if this was one of Victoria's twisted plans for some drama, the brunette wouldn't stay quiet any longer. She had been through enough messed up stuff to play part in the "wannabe high school drama".

And there she was going again. Just thinking about it was _so_ frustrating. She simply had to speak to Kate in private. Everything would be sorted out then.

The bell rang, and most students immediately left the classroom, having waited for the freeing sound for the last ten minutes or so. Max wanted to do the same, go under as just one other student, but Mr. Walker had other plans for her.

"Miss Caulfield? Do you have a minute?"

Rolling her eyes before turning around, the freckled girl just missed her chance to catch Kate in the corridor. "Did I do something?"

"No. No, you didn't." He let out a sigh. "Nothing is exactly what you did... I had the feeling you were finally getting a bit more talkative in my classes, did something change?" He asked flat out.

Max furrowed her brows in response. Why was he paying her so much attention? She didn't like being treated like something special. She wasn't and didn't want to be either. She didn't need any more attention. Especially not from the one sitting where Jefferson once sat.

"Everything is fine. R-Really." She cursed herself in her mind for the stutter, but it seemed that her teacher was pleased to hear that.

He simply shrugged. "Okay, don't want to pester you any longer then. But if you feel like talking, don't hesitate."

"... Sure."

Trusting him would be something she would never really be able to do. She knew that it was maybe a bit unfair, but didn't care either way. Instead, she finally made her way outside like the rest of the students

 _Ugh, finally school is over for today!_ The freckled girl could finally pull out her smartphone without fearing to be scolded. Her screen was telling her that she had three new texts from Chloe which she opened immediately.

 **Chloe:** hey listen Got this crazy idea

 **Chloe:** u me and the two biggest mammals on mother earth in about thirty minutes?

 **Chloe:** Having neither breaky nor Maxy is not good for my health after all!

The message let Max's brighten up a bit, but she knew that she had to decline, or at least delay, the punk's offer. She wanted to talk to Kate first. Victoria really had gotten into her brain, hadn't she?

But it wasn't just that. The Christian girl was important to Max, and she knew that some folks had… problems with what Chloe and she had done on the weekend. She didn't want to lose one of her closest friends because of something like this, and being upfront seemed like the best tactic for now.

_Funny, it almost feels like talking to my mom… Fuck, I still haven't done that either, have I? They deserve to know. But I should tell them in person. Maybe Christmas? At least with them, I know that everything will be okay._

Not really knowing where to search the brunette strolled around for some time, without any luck. She met a few people here and there, and it seemed like the big hype around the hero of Blackwell, who single-handedly defeated the evil teacher, _-as if-_ was finally dying. People still stared. People still whispered behind her back. But that would probably never change. Or at least not until she had long left Blackwell. She would need to accept this new reality she was in now. But as long as it was a reality with Chloe she didn't mind at all.

Then, she decided to go check if Kate had already gone into her room. She made her way through the school building and right as she was about to leave it a male voice called out for her.

"Hey, Max!" Warren called her with a concerned look on his face. He then asked, "I-Is everything okay... with you and Chloe?"

 _Oh shit, I haven't talked to him since then!_ The brunette just remembered that the last time she had seen Warren was when Chloe tried to intimidate him. She felt like facepalming herself.

"I'm fine. We're fine. It was just a misunderstanding."

The nerdy boy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "That's good to hear. Really didn't want to cause any ruckus."

"You didn't. Chloe can be a little protective sometimes, don't let it get to you too much."

"O-Okay. Sure. I'll be on my way then. Brooke said something about a new drone she wanted to show me."

But just as Warren turned around to go, Max remembered that she too was looking for someone. "Hey, Warren, you know where Kate is? Need to talk to her about something."

"Uhm, I think she was going to her room?" He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, she said she had something to do. Don't know what though." He shrugged.

"Quest updated! Thanks, Warren."

"So, I'm just a boring side character then? Lame." He quipped at her with a smile, before turning around and heading off.

_If he doesn't try so hard he can be a good guy, can't he?_

Max hastened over the campus. She still hated the gazes the other students gave her, they made her feel way too self-conscious. Like needles going right under her skin. That's why she was quite happy when she finally entered the girl's dorm, which was aside from a few girls talking in the corridor, empty. The freckled girl tried to not pay too much attention to either of them, and headed straight for her friend's room, but stopped right before the door.

For a moment Max eavesdropped if someone else was already inside. She didn't want to disturb anything after all. But there was a heavy silence oozing from the room.

No voice. No Music. Not even her violin… Just… Silence. The conversation at the other end of the hallway was suddenly getting more deafened.

Why would Kate be in the room and yet not a single sound would come out of it? Max didn't even hear steps. Did Kate not even move in there? Why would she not? Maybe she couldn't? Why wasn't she able to? The chain of questions lead to a dreading answer.

Max suddenly heard the sound of raining. She was so closer to the sky. Voices below her, which felt so small and quiet. Being so high up makes you... feel insignificant. A scream.

The freckled girl quickly shook her head, trying to free her mind from this… images. Yet a cramping feeling had still formed in her stomach. Way too forceful she hammered against Kate's door, didn't even wait for an answer and pushed the door open.

Just to find a startled blond girl sitting, legs crossed on the floor, staring at her with big eyes. "Max?! W-What's going on?"

"I..."

_I thought you killed yourself for no apparent reason? I'm being hysterical over nothing?_

"... was looking for you."

Kate furrowed and gave a long-drawn-out "Okay?" in response. "But normally you wait for me to say something before you storm in." She noted, voice not filled with anger but confusion.

"Well, I just… had this really bad dream today. I'm on the edge since then, sorry." Max shrugged and tried to sound as innocent as possible. She didn't like lying to Kate, but was there another option?

"A nightmare? You okay? You seemed off in Mr. Walker's class as well." The Christian girl intentionally didn't ask what it was about, thinking that she knew the answer already. Even she had heard all kinds of rumors after all...

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry that I startled you." The freckled girl just now realized that Kate was still sitting on the floor. "What are you doing anyways? You know there's been this great invention called chair?"

The blonde started chuckling on that. "Chloe's snarkiness really starts to rub off on you."

"It does not!... That much at least…" The brunette mumbled to herself while asking herself why Kate had to bring Chloe up already.

The answer forced another laughter out of the blond's mouth. "So, why did you come in here? Still, got some questions regarding our homework?"

"No, already got most of it finished, thank dog. It's actually…" Max sighed. "So, coming back to the chair thing…"

"Well, I, uh" She blinked a few times in confusion, then Kate's gaze suddenly dropped to the floor in embarrassment. "I... meditate sometimes. I just… It really helps to calm down as well! Great if you need to concentrate and stuff."

The freckled girl was somewhat baffled. "Kate, you don't need to explain yourself. You make it sound like you weren't _meditating_ but _medicating_ instead."

Kate rolled her eyes on that. "I would never do drugs, though… Not again."

"So, just chill." The brunette shrugged, trying to cheer her friend up again. " Trust me, most people do worse things than meditating here and there." And then with a wink, she added: "As long as you don't start criticizing my wing shui."

"Ugh. I'm still Christian, just so you know."

"Course you are... What would Kate Marsh be if not a preacher." Just then Max reminded herself why she was here in the first place. She gulped, and tried to gather as much courage as possible before she said, "Apropos your religion…"

That seemed to catch Kate's attention. The freckled girl had never spoken to her about this before. That's why she pressed Max, who went suspiciously silent for a moment. "My religion? What about it?"

With a sigh the brunette went through her hair with one of her hands, eyes evading Kate's face. Before saying anything, she closed the door behind her. This didn't need to be heard by every soul on the campus.

"Just… Chloe and I... We… We had sex." As her blue eyes moved back to see how the Christian girl was reacting to this, she saw that Kate was frowning, and a bit taken aback by what she just heard.

"Sex?"

"You know… When the people like each other they-"

"I know what you meant, Max." The freckled girl was cut off. There was a short, worrying pause before the girl on the floor then said, "Are you sure about this?"

Suddenly Max's heart was pumping against her ribcage yet again. She tried to read the questioning face Kate was doing right now, but wasn't really able to.

_What? Sure? Are you cereal? Don't fucking tell me Victoria was right!_

As fear was overflowing her system, there was also a gust of fury accompanying it. How could Kate question her love? It wasn't her place to question _anything_ Chloe and she were doing! Before Max could think about her choice of words, her mouth started working on its own. "H-How can you say that? You… You think it was a mistake?" Her voice was wavering thanks to a mixture of disbelief and anger.

"Well, I may not be the biggest expert in such things, but haven't you two only been together for a little bit over a week? Isn't this… I don't know, too fast?" Kate shrugged sheepishly.

"T-Too fast?..." The brunette repeated the question in confusion. There was a long pause where neither of them said anything. While Max was trying to process what she just heard, Kate simply wondered if Max would follow up with anything else.

But once the Christian girl realized that there was nothing else Max would say, she tilted her head in confusion. "Uhm, yes that's what I said."

"You…" The brunette needed to clear her throat before continuing, "You may be right. It's probably a bit fast." The freckled girl let a shaky chuckle escape her mouth, hoping that it would make it seem more believable.

But Kate wasn't stupid. With one eyebrow quirked upwards, she straightforwardly asked "You didn't ask because of that though, did you?"

Max grimaced, knowing that she had been caught. Should she be honest and say that she hadn't trusted Kate? Just because of a few simple words…

But before she even had a chance to say anything, let alone apologize, Kate started talking once more. "Max, let's look at it like this. God made nature and all living beings, while only giving humanity free will, or at least that's what Christians believe in, right?" The brunette gave an agreeing hum to answer Kate's rhetorical question. "Then, why is there homosexuality in the animal world?" The blonde girl asked matter-of-factly.

"I… don't know?" The freckled girl admitted.

"It's actually quite simply. God doesn't make mistakes. So, if homosexuality is a thing of his creation, it's not a mistake and thus not evil." Kate shrugged as if it was just that simple.

"Kate…." Max rubbed the back of her head, eyes falling on the ground. "I'm so sorry for even thinking that you might…"

"You should be! How can you think that I would hate you because of your pure and beautiful love towards Chloe?" The blonde girl pouted, while shaking her head.

"Being scared is nothing I choose, though…" Max tried to defend herself.

"But did I _ever_ seem like that to you? Did I ever seem like I _wasn't_ supporting you two?"

"No… Of course not… It's not that easy…"

"It is! You don't want to be judged for your sexuality, but judge other for their beliefs. That's hypocritical of you!" Kate was angrily crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Just then it hit her like a runaway train. She had offended her friend. "Kate… Let me make it up to you somehow…" Her proposal was more of a question, full of worry.

"... Hmpf… Then, tell me what made you think like that."

"Well…" Max sighed once more, knowing that the reason was a weak one. "We never really talked about how you stand regarding homosexuality-"

"That's not a reason to believe I'm discriminating people." The christian girl cut Max off sharply.

"I know! J-Just let me finish, please. So, not knowing how you stood, _someone_ was concerned about your opinion. Their concern infected me, so to say. Kate, I'm really sorry… I understand that I offended you, but I needed to make sure… You know me, I'm not the biggest when it comes to confidence." The freckled girl shrugged helplessly.

Listening carefully, the blonde girl's expression softened up almost immediately again, and she let out a sigh of her own, as Max finished her apology. "Don't cut yourself too short. That's what you're very good at. That and photography."

" _I wish"_ was on the tip of Max's tongue but instead she said, "I'm really sorry though."

"You said that already. It's okay. You won't tell me who planted this idea in your head, will you?"

"I'm not allowed to, For the sake of international security." The truth was that she didn't want any drama between Kate and her new found friend Victoria. She didn't know yet if the queen bee had done all of this intentionally, so blaming her was unfair.

"Ahh, right." Max was happy to see that the blonde girl was smiling again. There was a moment of silence between the girls. But then Kate raised her voice again. "So… Chloe and you… Everything else aside, my question from before still stands. Not saying it's wrong, or bad, or that you shouldn't. Just make sure that you are sure."

"... Sure. I just… Really love her, you know?"

"Even a blind person can see that Max. But be careful that your haste doesn't hinder the relationship between the two of you."

But was it really too fast? Max had known "The new Chloe" for multiple weeks now and… Then, it dawned her.

_I've had a lot more time with Chloe since I came back, than Chloe had with me… She can't remember a whole week of bonding! How could I forget that! And I still forced my teenage sex drive onto her! She even said that she wanted to wait, didn't she?_

And yet a new foul seed had taken root Max's mind.


	44. Head spins

Max could see the slightly disappointed expression, hidden behind Chloe's smile. She didn't come alone. It wasn't because the punk didn't like Kate or anything like that, but rather because the punk wanted some quality time with her girlfriend. Alone. And still, a weird type of fondness spread through Max's chest at the sight of it.

 _5 years later and she still sucks at hiding her emotions. Sometimes she's just like a child_. _So adorable_.

Maybe she was simply happy to see her favorite punk. And it wasn't like she didn't understand her girlfriend, but she still felt somewhat guilty for offending Kate like she did. So, to make it up to her she had invited the Christian girl to a fine breakfast together with Chloe.

The blue haired girl, unaware of all of this, still greeted the two with, "Oh, you brought Jesus girl with ya!" as she waved the two students over to the bench she was sitting on.

Max flashed her girlfriend an apologetic smile, before taking a few fast steps towards Chloe, so that she was in range for a tender kiss. Her mouth was met halfway with another pair of tender lips and for a moment the familiar warmth reminded Max of their weekend, and she could feel how blood rushed into her didn't stop her Chloe close to her again, the world was okay. If they just stayed like this, the two of them could simply forget the world with all its stupid problems for a moment. They even forgot that they weren't alone. Kate was still just standing there right next to them, awkwardly moving from one foot to the other, while trying not to stare at the two girls.

The blue haired girl was the first to notice, and while everything inside of her demurred against the mere idea, she separated herself from Max. The brunette gave a silent groan of objection, before accepting that it would get awkward if they didn't stop here. Instead, Max satisfied herself with a bit of cuddling, as she swung both arms around Chloe's waist while sitting herself next to her girlfriend. "Yep. Brought Kate with me. As observant as always."

"Biggest surprise since the comeback concert of J and the thirteen brothers."

For a moment Kate was taken aback as suddenly everyone's attention was on her. But she recovered fast, and quipped back, "It still surprises me just how many bad bible jokes you can pull off before you get bored."

"Pha! Never, that is the answer you seek, young one."

While Kate and Chloe were goofing around, the freckled girl was looking through the two whales, in hopes of seeing Joyce. There were the usual folks around. A few fishers were discussing how business was starting to get better again, thanks to the sudden downfall of the Prescott "empire". A trucker was enjoying his bagel and the officer which name Max still didn't know just finished his -god knows how many he had already- donut and started sipping on his hot coffee. And there, standing between two tables was mother Price.

The customer gave her order and Joyce wrote it down, then the waitress turned around noticed the three girls and a billion watt smile enlightened her face.

Everything seemed normal. Max started biting her lip.

_Everything_ _**is** _ _normal._ _For Pete's sake, c_ _an't I just stop worrying for once?_

She scolded herself. But just as she was about to get frustrated with her own tics, she could feel a hand on her head, ruffling through her brown hair.

"Hey, stop it, Che!"

"Or what?" The punk retorted, messing the -once- brown combed hair even more up. Even Kate seemed to enjoy Max and Chloe's playful relationship.

Max finally slapped her hand away with her own one. "Or I will need to show everyone just how ticklish the great blue tornado truly is!"

"You wouldn't dare." Chloe almost sounded shocked, but her toothy grin gave her away. But then her smile faltered, and the freckled girl could see how the blue haired girl's forehead creased.

Luckily Joyce approached them before Kate noticed the sudden shift in punk's mood. "Stop bothering Max, daughter of mine!"

"Sure mom." And with that, the small girl could feel how her girlfriend's hand moved away.

Joyce seemed almost perplexed for a moment like she was waiting for Chloe to start an argument. She couldn't know that her daughter's thoughts were somewhere else at the moment. "The usual for you two?" She then finally asked.

"You know your waffles won't ever get boring, Joyce."

"Thanks, Max." The blonde waitress answered with a polite smile before turning her attention towards Kate. "And what can it be for you today, young lady?"

"Uhm…"

"Take the bacon. Give in. You want the crispy meat." The blue haired girl half whispered, in a try to persuade her.

"... I think the Belgian waffles sound great actually. And may I have a hot chocolate as well?"

"Pff, traitor."

"Sure thing. Give me a moment." Joyce nodded towards the three girls, before turning around and yelling their orders into the kitchen.

The rest of the evening was spent devouring delicious mid-day breakfast and doing some small talk. Kate more than once remarked that she found it great how Max and Chloe had such a loving relationship. Almost as if she felt the need to prove something.

 _I hurt her, didn't I? Fuck me._ The freckled girl said to herself.

But aside from Max guilt tripping herself, the day was fine. They didn't talk about anything special, most of the topics were either about music, school or other hobbies. But even in this relaxing atmosphere, Max couldn't fully shake off one idea particular idea.

_What if we move too fast in all of this?_

Luckily, neither Kate nor Chloe noticed something, as both of them were discussing their favorite topic, as of late.

"I respect your open-mindedness, but she even hated on me and… my friends, back when I was still a student. Couldn't it just be that she's trying to act like the kind girl so that she can snatch away some more attention?"

"Don't you think that sounds farfetched? She's even hanging out with Max as of late, who is standing way more in the eye of the public than she ever was."

Chloe, who of course had heard from her girlfriend that Victoria was occasionally chilling with them, shook her head. "I know, and I don't get why she does that."

"Because she's not as bad as you think she is, that's why." The blonde girl argued.

"To be honest, I think Kate may be partially right." As the blue haired girl quirked one eyebrow up in surprise, Max quickly added, "She's still a bitch, no denying in that, but she's trying… I think."

"You think, huh? Welp, maybe you guys are right, maybe you're not, I don't fucking know." Chloe shrugged. "I don't trust her."

Kate rolled her eyes on their unnecessary cursing but accepted it nonetheless.

A few pancakes later, Max also told her girlfriend that she spilled the beans about their weekend, after being pestered by Dana.

Hearing that, the punk let out a disappointed sigh. "Babe, you can't drop a bomb just like that. You need to surprise everyone with it for the _max_ imum effect."

"You don't mind? Honestly, I expected that you wouldn't appreciate it."

"If it were up to me I would tell the whole world that I've got the most awesome girlfriend in the cosmos. Nothing to hide."

"Should've known that you think like that. You're not half bad either by the way. Not quite cosmos level yet, but we're getting there."

"Ouch, that hella stings."

"Chloe what did we say about the language?"

"Sorry sister Kate." The blue haired girl winked at the blond girl, not losing her cocky smile.

About half an hour later, Kate said goodbye to the two of them, as she still got some stuff she needed to do for school tomorrow. After she had left, the partners in crime didn't stay much longer, deciding that they could chill at Chloe's. But before that, the bigger girl decided that she would make her mother happy today. She pulled a black leather wallet out of her jacket which had the words "Bad mother fucker" written over it, and gave her a ten dollar bill. But instead of a smile or even a snarky remark, Joyce simply looked confused.

Brows furrowed she asked her daughter, "What is that, honey?"

Chloe couldn't contain a small chuckle. "Ten bucks is what it is."

"You paying for your meal? Is this really happening?" In utter shock, she then asked Max, "What have you done to my daughter?"

"Trust me, it was much work."

"I take your word for it. But… How?"

The brunette shrugged. "Lots of threatening and torturing, I guess."

"As long as it works."

"Mom, you could at least _try_ to sound concerned when someone tortures your daughter…"

Joyce looked at the money in her hand again, while not being able to contain a grin of her own any longer. "But it seems that it's working better than all the nagging I did for years."

"In other words, we simply love you, Che."

"Yea, Yea, I know…" The punk tried to fake a pout, knowing that being a tragic victim of an overdose of sass was her own fault.

"You two heading home now?" Joyce then asked curiously.

"Damn, keeping track of us like you were David."

"Chloe!" But she noticed that unlike prior snarky remarks regarding her step dad, this time there was less… bitterness in it. It _almost_ seemed like it was just one of the punk's jokes. "At least you call him by his name as of late."

Now, even the blue haired girl herself looked somewhat confused. "I do? Hmm, didn't even notice." She said, even though deep down she knew that this was a lie. She didn't hate David like she used to, and it wasn't like she hadn't tried it.

 _Urgh, damn you, Max! That one is on you! What am I without all my anger?_ She asked herself half serious. Of course, in truth, she was thankful for her girlfriend, but it was still weird. All the built up anger that had always used every chance to lash out was… gone. Most of it was at least.

...

The idea of watching a movie sounded great after all everyone sounded so excited about this "Gravity" movie. So, the two of them simply decided to watch it. Or rather stream it on some half illegal website.

Turns out making out is more fun.

 _Oh, who could've guessed that?_ Both of them thought at one point.

At first, they were kinda intrigued at the plot. Both of them, Max's head resting on Chloe's shoulder, were watching it for the first twenty minutes or so in silence, but then a simple and harmless movement destroyed the atmosphere. Max laid her hand on the punk's stomach, feeling her somewhat hard biceps. It was interesting and so unlike her own tummy that she couldn't help but start groping it.

Chloe's blue eyes were watching her girlfriend by now. "Enjoying yourself?"

The freckled face was turning a bit red, but with a bold grin she retorted, "Yeah, a lot actually."

The blue haired girl then turned around, so that her whole body was facing the smaller girl, and whispered, "May I join the fun?"

"I think you've already invited yourself." Max quipped back, while an alien hand was crawling under her shirt and moving up and down her spine. The mere touch sent a shiver down her -literal- spine. The freckled girl then pushed herself up, so that their faces were next to each other.

The closeness was not foreign, but after their date on the beach, it felt… different, as if they had made a silent promise to each other. As if all the chains that once had held them back were broken now.

" _... Only two weeks ago…"_ Max could suddenly hear Kate saying in her mind.

Maybe this was just how she had felt after all? What if Chloe didn't feel like she did? How could she even? Max had spent much more time with her than the other way around.

_I know she likes me. She does, but maybe I'm pushing too hard? Maybe she feels obliged or even forced to do this with me..._

"Y'know… David and Mom'll be home late today…" Chloe asked gingerly while playing with the collar of Max's t-shirt, which gave her back some confidence.

Instead of giving an answer, the smaller girl started with biting her own lips and ending biting Chloe's. The bigger girl promptly rolled on top of her girlfriend, taking this as a " _Yes_ " to the unspoken question. The freckled girl could feel how her girlfriend's warm breath was dancing around her neck, while the punk's teeth gently nibbled on her pale skin. Max started rubbing her cheek against the smooth blue hair and her nails carefully dug in Chloe's shoulders.

But then, as the punk pulled back for a bit, now hovering above Max, she frowned upon seeing her girlfriend's expression. She didn't look unpleased or uncomfortable, and yet Max's blue eyes were avoiding Chloe, and her eyebrows were squeezed together.

"This is the moment you giggle and blush, not where you overthink stupid stuff, babe." The blue haired girl said, with nothing but worry in her voice.

"I…" The brunette sighed. "Sorry."

"Nah, just fucking with ya. What's wrong?" Chloe asked while getting off of the girl under her again. She then sat up, so that she could face Max, who was doing the same.

While Max crossed her legs, the punk lazily laid her feet over the smaller girl's lap. The brunette didn't mind of course, and instead of complaining started fiddling with her girlfriend's feet.

"So, what's bothering you, dork?"

The freckled girl closed her eyes, taking a big chunk of air in before answering, "Do we rush things?"

There was a short moment of silence. "Do we?" Chloe asked back.

"I don't know, you tell me. You've got way more experience than me. I… I don't want to ruin what we have because I'm too pushy, Che."

"Experience? Whoa, slow down there, Maxaroni. Do I have experience dating some twat, who I don't even really care about? Sure have. Do I have experience dating my best friend? Hella no!"

"But... If I weren't your childhood friend-"

"You are."

"Yeah, but just… What if... I don't want to ruin us because I force myself on you." The freckled girl finally confessed.

"Fuck that." The punk exhaled sharply. "The heck are you talking about? You think I don't want this? I've wanted this to happen for the last five fucking years. Dude, don't _`but other couples´_ me. We've known each other so much longer than most people do before they start dating."

"But what if I have changed. What if you don't like the new me?"

"Oh, I get it. It's about the rewinds."

"No. Well… Yes."

"I like… love you. We won't get this one week back, and in all honesty, I don't want that either. I want to be here in the present, with you. Stop being scared of the past or the future." Chloe said, voice not hard, but silk-like, while her arms finally slung around the smaller girl.

Max let herself be embraced by the blue haired girl while letting out a sigh of her own. Being pressed against her girlfriend let her finally relax. It would take months, maybe years or maybe even forever before Max could finally be free of the curse of time.


	45. I guess I never really know

"Actually, I was once eating lobsters in a pretty fancy restaurant, and it's blue blood went all over my face."

"That's sounds so unlikely… And disgusting… And strangely fascinating. And then what? You decided that you like the look?"

"Exactly, but no worries, this ain't blood on my head." Chloe clarified with a wink while telling a customer one of her made up tales about her hair.

It was Friday, and while it sucked that she had to work, it could be worse. Most people were too sleepy from work or school to visit a cafe. It was quite empty, and the blue haired girl was quite thankful for that. She had other things on her mind. Yesterday, Max and she had both decided that they should tell Mr and Miss Caulfield that they were… well, an item by now.

_It was just a question of time before we needed to tell them, and it can't get much worse than with my mom, can it?_

"But I work on Friday. Let's just do it sometime else. No need to rush that stuff, right?" Chloe asked her girlfriend. The act of telling her girlfriend's parents that they were in a relationship was of course not an easy task, but Chloe had been prepared for it for a while now. She would support the smaller girl in any way possible.

That's why it had taken her by surprise when Max said that it was fine if she would speak with them alone first.

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked, her brows frowning.

Her freckled cheeks had a faint red in them as she "It's fine, really. And while I know that you are…beautiful, they don't know the _new_ you."

"You think they won't like me?"

"I think Dad will be all over you, but we shouldn't shock them twice in one call, you get what I mean? Also, the next time we can Skype would be at the end of the month. I really don't want to wait any longer. Keeping something _that_ important from them feels wrong like I would lie to them whenever I don't mention it... Also, telling them something like this over a simple phone call doesn't do us justice." She added with a playful wink.

"We could always drive up there, you know?" The blue haired girl suggested, only with the best intentions for Max.

But the brunette only gave a gentle smile in return, while saying "That's sweet of you, but let's be honest, I need the time to get back into school. Even with your help, science is still a bitch."

The punk sighed. Chloe felt like saying that there were more important things than school, but she knew when to surrender. "If you're okay with it… Let me know how it went, yeah?" And while rubbing the back of her head she added, "I'm just worried about ya."

And that was a simple truth. Of course it was important that Max's folks accepted their relationship, but to be honest, Chloe didn't care all that much. She knew it was important for the girl she loved, so it was kind of important for her as well, but that was it. If someone had anything against them they could go straight to hell if one asked Chloe Price.

_Or maybe it is better if they go to heaven? Because Max and me, as gay as we are, will definitely end up there._

And even after thinking all of that, and agreeing to Max's idea that she would talk to her parents alone, here she was, worried sick. Wondering if everything was okay.

_Stupid smartphone ban for all workers… Calling yourself a bar for youngsters my ass._

But there was no helping it, she had to sit out her shift in the cafe. Bored, thanks to the lack of customers, she studied the furniture for what felt like the hundredth time.

The shop was rather big, with a lot of fancy and fashionable furniture. Weirdly formed chairs, colorful tables, and lamps that were twisted in ways that made Chloe's head spin. The walls were full of different pictures, photos and magazine snippets with faces of b class stars. Chloe had never heard anything from any of those self-proclaimed "super talents".

_The perfect location for our hipster generation. Max would like it as well if not for Jefferfuck. Yet another thing that asshole destroyed._

But even though all the free time was kinda boring, the blue haired girl could use it to sort some stuff out in her head. She would get probably an answer in the next few days from the colleges she had applied on.

_Not like I have a real chance, but maybe one of them is willing to take in some rowdy idiot like me. And if they don't, I'll just have to see that I work until they do. I can't stay a waitress forever, no offense mom, but as soon as Max's hits off with her photos I would fall behind… And there is nothing that scares me more._

The day went on with a few weird made up tales and taking orders. In the evening fewer people were coming into the cafe and it was nearly time to close it anyways. The punk moved back into the kitchen and started helping to wash some dishes because they had those fancy cups that would break in a dishwasher…

"Yo girl waiting at home today?" Klaus, a bulky but friendly cook asked while joining the blue haired girl to wash the rest with her.

"Planning to visit her after I'm done her, she still lives at Blackwell."

"That private academy with all those snobby teenagers?"

"That's the one! And gosh don't get me started on them. 'Rich parents' is all I need to say. Bright future ahead of them. Just that they didn't move a fucking finger for it. Can't stand most of the snobby pricks."

"And what-was-her-name-again is different, I guess?"

"Dude, I should be offended that you even tried to compare them."

On that, the tall man snorted in amusement. Even if he didn't know the punk very good, he could see that she was head over heels for her girlfriend. Then, while simultaneously sighing and shrugging he said. "Just get home already, Chloe. I can handle the rest."

"For real?"

"Don't question it. Just let me be this old cool guy that helps youngsters like you."

The blue haired girl slammed him on the back. "You're the best."

She quickly changed out of her working- and into her casual clothes. Now, looking like the real punk rock girl Chloe Price was, she left through the back exit and entered a rather dark alleyway. It was quite a storybook alleyway, with some garbage bins on each side, overflowing with green bags of trash.

Together with the fresh October breeze, exhaustion hit her, and the blue haired girl let out a big yawn while stretching herself. Even an uneventful day like this could be exhausting. She then snuggled a padded winter jacket around herself tightly. Just a few days ago even Chloe had realized that it wasn't summer anymore, and was now wearing a black jacket with white soft wool in the hood, a blue scarf and instead of her normally torn jeans, normal ones. The only thing that survived the change was the beanie.

 _Now, I even got time to smiz one._ She thought while checking the time. She expected to be off duty in about twenty minutes. Now, she could first chill, enjoy a cigarette, and then still surprise little Max. The weekend was just about to start, which meant that they finally had some more free time together with the small hippie.

They had seen each other whenever possible of course, but the last few days of school had stolen a lot of precious "make-out" time from Chloe and Max.

_Just a reason more to hate this whole school thing. Whatever hinders me to bite my girl can bite me!_

The blue haired girl took a deep pull on the white stick in front of her, releasing the smoke out of her nose, while staring at the by now dark sky. A few stars were trying to break through the thick wall of darkness that was the night sky, but there were still not as many as last weekend down at the beach.

_Down at the beach. Down with Max. No fucking difference._

And it was just, while the blue haired girl snickered at her own joke, that two hands suddenly clutched on her jacket before Chloe even realized that she wasn't alone anymore. Without knowing what the hell was going on, she pushed the person in front of her away, simply out of reflex.

Max landed clumsily on her butt before she even noticed that she was falling. Her hands were burning, probably torn open.

"Holy Fuck!" Chloe's cigarette followed Max, falling on the ground just like the brunette, while still emitting a weak glow in the dark alleyway. The punk just stared at her girlfriend, not being able to comprehend what just happened. "Max?..."

Seemingly popping out of thin air, the small girl was in front of Chloe amidst the empty street, face creased and full of pure angst. Her hair was a mess, her jeans were stained with dust as if she had fallen once before, and her eyes…

_She's crying._

… were swollen and red. Her cheeks sparkled thanks to the faint moonlight above them.

Even now, Chloe almost dared to think that Max looked pretty in the darkness.

"It happened again!" The girl on the ground yelled at her girlfriend and the words echoed through the empty street. "Everything went to shit, Chloe…" As she repeated herself, Max's voice was nothing more than a whisper, so fragile one could think the night sky could swallow it whole.

The blue haired girl didn't have the slightest idea what Max was talking about, but instead of asking the obvious, she dropped to her knees and embraced the hysterical girl. Chloe rubbed her girlfriend's back in circular motions while humming a few _It's okays_ and _We're safes_ into Max's ear, while fully knowing that they were a lie, only carrying the sole purpose of calming the brunette.

The next few words were nothing more than a faint, scared whisper. "Time stopped again."

"And you didn't…" Just mere seconds after the question had escaped her mouth, the punk felt like slapping herself for such a stupid question.

"Course I didn't!" Max hissed into Chloe's arm, which was still slung around her head. "It… It just fucking happened again. W-What if I can't control it any longer?! What if I'll be stuck in time forever!" By then, the small girl's body was shaking all over.

"You… You won't…" The bigger girl knew that she didn't sound sincere, but neither of them had any understanding of Max's power, and if worse came to worse…

_No! This won't happen. It wouldn't make any sense! If they destroy time space, why in the hell did she gain those powers in the first place? She saved the town and me. Doesn't that count for anything?_

...

Max had buried herself in Chloe's bed sheets, while the punk was sitting on a chair, next to her large bed. The two of them had somehow managed to get back home, after realizing that a dirty alley wasn't the best location for… whatever this was. But right now each of them was caught in their own thoughts, while a heavy silence was wearing them down.

The blue haired girl was playing with her lighter, flipping in on and off again. She was trying to make sense to all of this. Why the powers, why now, and most of all, why Max.

The small girl, on the other hand, tried to push everything but one thought out of her head. Curled up in her girlfriend's bed, Max tried to only focus on Chloe's scent, which was obviously all over the bed. Everything was just too much.

_First my parents and then this..._

Not a word had been spoken so far.

"So…" The punk broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Hmm?"

"I was just... y'know… thinking…" But seeing the state that the small girl was in Chloe couldn't finish her train of thought, not wanting to give any more reasons for Max to worry about, and instead asked, "How went the Skype call with your folks?"

The sob was not the answer Chloe had expected. "M-Max?..." She could feel how she was clenching fists into her jeans.

"My… My mother was disgusted." The hidden girl blubbered out. "She…" There was a short pause because the freckled girl needed to sniff. "... said that she hadn't expected something like this from me… Like I did something wrong!"

Taken aback by what she just heard, Chloe's eyes fell on the floor for a moment. "How can that be…" She mumbled more to herself than her girlfriend before falling into yet another silent pause. The punk didn't know what she should say. So instead, she decided to crawl into her bed so that she could give her girlfriend at least some kind of physical comfort. She slid under the sheets, and pulled Max into her, drowning the smaller girl in her chest.

"You should've seen her…" The brunette muttered into her girlfriend.

Chloe was scared of the question that was lingering in her head but still needed to ask it anyways. "... Your Dad?"

For a moment she could feel the body in her arms shift, and the bigger girl could swear that she felt some kind of relaxation in Max's tense muscles. "... Better..."

A thought was clouding Chloe's mind, almost hurting her on a physical level. _Fucking should've been there._

She would keep her mouth shut for now, and at least _now_ be here for Max. Everything else would need to wait.


	46. Brain-"Storm"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just noticed that this story has been alive for over a year now! (On Fanficiton.net at least :P )   
> I didn't expect to enjoy myself that much with writing stories, it's really amazing! ^^' And thanks to everyone who are still here from the early days for sticking with this story up until now.  
> Everyone else... Hi :D

All in all, it wasn't as bad, once the first shock had worn off. Yes, Max's mother had said some… weird things, but Chloe was pretty sure that it was mostly the shock, not out of ill intent.

After a significant amount of crying and cursing, the blue haired girl had somehow managed to calm her girlfriend and had her explain everything to her.

The short version was that after spilling the beans about their relationship to her parents, her Dad had simply shrugged it off, saying that he didn't care about who his little girl loved as long as she was happy.

Max's mother, on the other hand, had stated that she hadn't expected something like this from her daughter and that it was not as simple as her husband was making it out to be.

Both Max, and her father Ryan had both a similar expression of surprise on their faces as they heard Vanessa Caulfield say this. Max had immediately hung up as soon as she had heard her mother say that.

By now it was four in the morning, and Chloe's room was nearly pitch black, the only source of light being a little lamp on Max's side of the bed.

"So, you didn't even let her explain?" The punk asked the smaller girl, who was laying on top of her, head cuddled into the gap between her shoulder and her neck. Chloe loved this feeling, not just for the obvious reason that an in her opinion pretty girl was having intimate physical contact with her, but also feeling Max's weight was reassuring in a strange way.

"What is there to explain? She sounded so disappointed!" Max felt like being pushed into a corner. Why would Chloe ask this? Didn't she believe her? "I know my mother. I know how she sounds when she's disgusted…"

"Not saying that you don't, but she's still your mom. She loves you. You should at least give her a chance to explain."

"... I guess…" The freckled girl grumbled.

"Don't guess on me, Caulfield.," Chloe said, after nearly being distracted by how cute Max was when she pouted. "You're talking to a not-treating-mother-right professional here. Don't be an idiot like me." The blue haired girl said those last words with an unusual serious undertone in her voice.

The brunette sighed in return. She had been so scared when she saw her mother's expression through the screen of her laptop. But could it have been just mere shock?

Maybe Chloe is right. I should've talked to her… Should've given her a chance… Because that's why I want from her as well, a chance that is. But can I even... explain what I and Chloe have? I mean, nothing about 'us' is normal, is it?

"Talk to me, Maximouse." The bigger girl's voice pulled her back into the now.

"Ugh, I really hate that nickname… " The brunette tried to play around the question she was asked, but instead of quipping anything back, Chloe only showed her a toothy grin, but waited for the smaller girl to answer the question. "Maybe I shouldn't have hung up like I did." And now that she was thinking about it, there was a little sting of guilt annoying her from inside her stomach.

The punk gave Max a casual shrug. "It's really up to you. They will call eventually, you can't run from your old ones. Trust me, I tried multiple times... And we could always call them instead if that's more comfortable with ya."

The freckled girl freed one of her arms from under her girlfriend and started to massage her nose bridge. "They… They already called."

Understanding that this implied that Max had ignored their calls, the bigger girl let out a sigh of her own. "Okay, so the next time they call, we will answer, together, kay?"

The small girl gave an agreeing "Uh-huh" as an answer, but then nestled her face yet again in her girlfriend's neck, not wanting to talk any longer. Chloe, understanding her girlfriend even without the use of language, didn't push her any further. Instead, she started massaging the back of Max's neck gently, until she could hear something like a satisfied purring.

After indulging in her girlfriend's touch for a minute, she crawled a few inches upwards, so that she could fully face the blue haired girl. Blue eyes meeting another pair of the same color, they just stared at each other for a few moments.

"Looking for something?"

Before retorting anything, the smaller girl gave the punk a peck right on her nose. "I'm sorry for being such a mess. T-Thanks for being here with me."

Chloe just rolled her eyes on that. "This is my room, where else should I be at this hour?"

Max knew that this was more than a mere joke her girlfriend was cracking. Hidden between the lines was the statement that there was no need for thanking her, or maybe even that this was not Max's fault. So, before answering, the brunette shook her head faintly. "Che, I… I want you to know that I don't take your love for granted."

"You should."

"I'll always be grateful."

"Because you're a dork."

"Because I love you."

Max could even through the darkness see how the bigger girl under her was blushing. But then Chloe's forehead creased. "You're worried about something, aren't ya?"

"Y-Yeah, well I... I really didn't expect you to be so chill about this, Che. What if they call me back to Seattle? What if they try to stop me from seeing you again?" The punk could feel how fingers were digging into her shoulder as the freckled girl was rambling.

This is bothering her? That I could disappear? Doesn't she see that I won't let her go that easily? Chloe thought, while loudly letting air escape her nose.

"Listen, Che, I know this sound stupid, but they are the ones that are paying for my room here in Arcadia. A-And I'm still not an adult yet s-so -hmm!"

Instead, of listening to her girlfriend's scared rambling any further, she shut her girlfriend up through a forced kiss. At first, that had been the simple plan, to press her lips against Max's, but as she felt Max leaning into the kiss as well, she grabbed the smaller girl's waist and rolled her over, so that the blue haired girl was now on top of her girlfriend.

As they broke the kiss, to gain much-needed air, Chloe bit her girlfriend's neck, which forced a gasping moan out of Max's mouth. "C-Chlo!..."

"I will drive up to Seattle. I will let you live here with me. I will take you away from them, kidnap you if they try to get between us…" The punk took a deep breath before proceeding. "Listen, Max... I-I don't want you to think that you have to choose between me and Vanessa because you won't be able to. I won't give you a choice but to choose me."

"That's pretty selfish of you."

"Fuck yea it is." She huffed in return, but with a much softer voice Chloe asked, "...Got a problem with it?"

Looking up to the girl hovering over her, it was now Max's time to blush. As the punk was slowly descending towards the freckled girl, she let out a whispered, "N-No." before their lips met once more. It felt like the air in Max's lungs was becoming warm and… tender. This cloud of loving emotions soon spread through her whole body and didn't vanish as their mouths parted so that they could breathe again.

A heavy sigh, full of love and worry, escaped the brunette's mouth. "I really hoped that your future in-laws would see just how amazing you are. Like, you're the best thing that ever… W-What?" Max sappy dialog was interrupted by the dumbfounded expression her girlfriend was having right now. "I-I mean I uh, well… I just thought that this was where this was heading… At some point… Maybe…"

"You're unbelievable, you know that? Just saying something like this…" For a moment Max was worried, but Chloe's stupid grin that went from ear to ear was giving it away.

Neither of them felt tired any longer after having rested for most of the day, so afterward followed, instead of more sleep, lots of making out, cuddling, and sappiness I will spare you from.

…

The next morning, if one can call twelve o'clock still morning, the two of them woke up but decided to not move at all for a while. Yesterday had been pretty messed up, and they had spent most of their energy compensating all of what happened. With a much clearer head, Chloe was going through everything once more.

"So…"

"No! No talking yet! Let me doze some more…" The freckled girl struggled to keep the relaxed mood but knew that they needed to talk about… everything.

"The inner sloth in me is so proud of you right now, Maxi. If this wouldn't be important I wouldn't interrupt our Sunday cuddle date, trust me."

A somewhat grumpy Max only retorted a grumbled "What is it then…"

"About your powers-"

"Oh." Max's face sobered up immediately.

"... Well, I was just thinking, maybe you don't control them… At least not in a way we thought you would."

"Sounds about right. I didn't even raise my hand like I used to, you know?" The freckled girl explained while making said hand gesture towards the ceiling.

"Uh-huh… if the trigger is not your hand then maybe, just maybe, it's something else?"

Max gave an uncertain "Hmm" as a response but didn't really know what to make of it. The first time it happened after all was when they were looking for the old woman behind Two Whales. Afterwards, there were a few silent moments in which both girls tried to wrap their head around all of this.

"What if your emotions were controlling them?... While I was attacking Nathan, what did you feel?

"I was honestly just scared shitless. I thought they would try to take you away from me, you know?..." Max answered the question, frowning even more as she didn't understand what Chloe was suggesting here. "But that doesn't make sense at all... "

"Maybe… Maybe it does, though." The blue haired girl said, fiddling with her beanie.

"But I wasn't nearly as scared when we didn't find the homeless woman."

"Didn't You tell me that when we went through your journal that you warned her from the storm, right? So, what was the first thing that came to your mind when we didn't find her."

The freckled girl needed a moment to recall the events. But as she did a familiar feeling start boiling up again. A dark emotion that still lingered hidden in the depths of her soul. The fear of the storm.

Fear? So, that's the trigger?

"But I tested my abilities with you, on the junkyard, and I was most certainly not scared back then. Maybe a bit worried about your gun, but that's it." Max argued against her girlfriend's theory. "I used it on many occasions, willingly, just to satisfy my curiosity."

"So, what? Maybe it works both ways? You can use them manually, and at certain moments they just kick in. Like on the roof with Kate, you told me that this was the first time that well… time stopped… I… I don't fucking know, it's just a theory."

Now that both girls were deep in though, neither of them would be able to doze off again, too many questions swirling around in their heads. While Chloe was litting herself a cigarette on the open window, Max simply sat cross-legged on the large bed and was thinking about what her girlfriend just said, while observing how the smoke slowly faded into the sky. A cold breeze came from outside and crawled over Max's skin. The freckled girl quickly wrapped their until then shared blanket around herself, like a burrito.

She's right, something is triggering these events. Now, that I think about it, wasn't the first time I saved her in the bathroom just like that? I was so scared my legs only barely held me... Or all those other times… that I couldn't save Chloe… Each of them had one thing in common: Time stopped!

Baffled by her own train of thought, the freckled girl stared with her deep blue eyes at her girlfriend for a moment. After a few seconds, Chloe noticed the odd look she was receiving from the smaller girl and quirked one of her eyebrows in confusion.

"Figured something out?"

"M-Maybe…"

After not receiving an explanation the punk asked once more. "So… Gonna tell me or what?"

"Huh?..." For a moment Max was surprised, not noticing herself how she had suddenly become silent. "I think… Maybe it happens when I'm scared to lose somebody I love…"

"What I was saying, your fear-"

"No that's not it. Chloe, time never stopped in... " The freckled girl, voice nearly faltering, bit her own lips, eyes darting nervously around the room. "When I was with him it never stopped." It was nearly a month later, and she still couldn't speak about it, even with Chloe. The memories were too painful… but just today she would have to endure them.

The punk didn't know what to say after that, too scared to say something that could hurt her girlfriend. This topic was off limits for now, and it would probably stay that way for a good while, both girls understood and accepted that. So, instead, she embraced Max and waited for her to continue.

"A-Anyways that must mean that it isn't triggered by every kind of fear."

"... Okay, now you lost me."

"I… I think it only activates when I'm scared to lose someone close to me… Someone I love."

"But wait, just so that I get that right, I wasn't going to die yesterday."

A now somewhat flushed Max shyly looked away. "I don't… I don't care if I sound like an asshole right now…" She took a deep breath before continuing. "But even if it's just by physical distance the thought of losing you is scaring me more than if I would lose… other people."

Even if I didn't need to, in the end, I would've killed hundreds of people for you.

Chloe, eyes sparkling with tears, sighed, while she shook her head. How could she deserve this? But this wasn't the time for self-loathing. The punk could feel how a warm fuzzy feeling called love was swelling up in her chest. "... I know. It scares me when you talk like that. As if there was just A or B. You showed them, whoever they are, that there are more options in life than that." And while touching the freckled girl's nose with her forefinger, she added, "Don't you ever forget that, you sappy dork."

The two of them enjoyed a quiet moment of silence together. A car drove over the street just outside the window, somewhere a bird was chirping a song, and a sprinkler was wettening a grass in front of someone else's house. There was a strange harmony between those noises, that let both of the girls relax. Despite all of this surreal talk about time and superpowers, they were still here. Together.

"Fuck it!"

"Huh?! Wh-What are you doing, Chlo?" Max yelled out as she was pulled to her feet by her girlfriend.

But before she had a chance to ask what was going on a song she didn't know was already playing. As the blue haired girl turned away from her stereo to face the smaller girl, she grabbed Max's waist, and carefully started to -force- dance with her. The song started rather slow with a piano playing, and the two girls moved together with the beat, Max resting her head against Chloe's shoulder. Then, the song suddenly got a lot wilder than Max had expected, but before she could do anything, she was already being swirled around by the bigger girl.

Under a chuckle, the brunette said, "You're crazy."

"Hella crazy for you!"

Letting go of all the stress for a few moments, felt like a pleasant splash of cold water on a hot summer day. Maybe it was the music, maybe it was her girlfriend trying to comfort her or maybe it was something else, Max didn't know, but what she knew was that she wouldn't let anyone -or anything- take this away.

Her hands dug yet again into her girlfriend's shoulders, while she locked eyes with her. "We will find a way." As a wave of determination overwhelmed her until then scared self.

Before Chloe could give her answer, Max's lips were already sealing her mouth up.


	47. Assumption and Reality

What if not Max herself was the cause, but her and Chloe's relationship? That idea sounded weirdly romantic, but the problem was that there would be no way to prove it. After all, it was just a theory and could very well be proven wrong, and if that was the case bringing someone else in danger would be nothing more than absolutely stupid.

She quickly shook those thoughts off, because there were more important things going on at the moment.

So, what if her mother didn't like her own daughter for being gay. Vanessa would either have to accept it or shut up about it. This wouldn't change anything regarding how Max felt, even if she wanted to.

_Which I, just to point it out once more, do not want. My feelings are not a goddamn switch I can turn off whenever I feel like it._

The freckled girl was laying on her bed, school had just been over. On top of it, all having to go to school didn't help a lot. Monday was never a good day for concentration, but now having her parents and the time stopping on her mind, she hadn't really been able to concentrate in class today at all. Especially the last lesson of the day still felt... weird. She knew it was probably uncalled, for but she just couldn't look her new photography teacher Mr Walker into the eyes. The redhead did not resemble Jefferson at all, but there was still a bitter aftertaste whenever she saw someone sitting where that asshole once sat.

And it wasn't like Mr Walker didn't know all of that, which made it even worse, because he was acting very careful around Kate, Victoria, and Max. The freckled girl even dared to say that he was being nice.

 _Or maybe it's just an act? Maybe he wants me to think… Ugh! Stop it already!_ She knew that it was unreasonable, but those ideas found their way into her mind over and over again.

Playing with her pink streak, Max stared at the ceiling for a good while. This sucked. Not knowing what to do and how to act sucked major balls!

That's why she decided to get herself out of her bed. She needed some fresh air, her room suddenly felt so small that it made it almost unbearable. She grabbed her camera bag, put on a green hoodie and brown winter jacket so that she wouldn't freeze too much outside.

She then, right before leaving the room, unplugged her smartphone and glanced over the screen.

_Fuck… Thirteen calls already? Maybe I should just… N-No, not without Che next to me!_

Max hadn't dared to call or even write any of her folks so far, especially not if Chloe wasn't' around.

_I've made this mistake once, talking to them without Chloe giving me back up. Fool me once…_

The small girl stretched her sore body, and somewhere in her back was a painless popping coming from her bones. She let out a long yawn, but then opened her door and stepped outside into the corridor.

Like usual the corridor wasn't empty like Max hopped. Stella and Alyssa were having some kind of conversation, but both girls never spoke to loud so even someone as nosy as Max couldn't make out was it was about. But what she could hear Kate's beautiful violin being played. On the spur of the moment, she thought about knocking on said girl`s door, but then came up with an idea of her own. Instead of announcing herself, the freckled girl opened the door as quiet as possible, and just enough to see inside the room.

There she found the blonde girl playing her instrument, while seemingly looking out of the window, her back turned to the door. The last sunrays were playing around her in a fascinating way, while her head danced to the self-made beat.

Max couldn't resist. She took the shot.

"Huh!? Aw, Max! D-Don't just take pictures of others…" A surprised Kate pouted.

The brunette raised her hands. "Caught me. But you looked way too cool, I couldn't resist."

"I-I'm not cool…" The blonde girl rolled her eyes while putting the instrument down.

"Sure." Max quipped back sarcastically. Her blue eyes then darted down to the photo in her hands, and a smile unfolded itself on her face. "Just look and tell me that you don't look awesome." She said while holding the photo up so that Kate could see it.

"... I don't… Well… With you as a photographer-"

"God, Kate, just take the compliment." Max interrupted her friend with a chuckle in her voice. "Wanna have this one, or can I keep it?"

"As long as I don't end up on some weird website."

For a moment Max was bitterly reminded what had happened to Kate on the party and how it -nearly- ruined her life. While it never came to such an escalation here in this timeline, Max still suddenly like slapping herself across the face. "If it bothers you I can just-"

"Just take it." This time it was Kate who interrupted the other girl. "I know how much you like your shots." And after getting a questioning look from the freckled girl she quickly added, "I would tell you if it really bothered me."

Max couldn't help but smile at the blonde girl. "Gee, you make it sound like I was really smug, you know?"

Hearing that, Kate's eyes went big. "Oh, b-but I didn't mean it like that, I swear!"

On that the freckled girl simply shook her head, chuckling to herself.

….

A while later this day Maxine had made her way outside the dorm and was slandering through the town in hope of finding either something interesting or something she could take another photo from.

So, far her search had been in vain. Here and there she saw few fisher walking hectically through the street. Now, that the fishing business had started growing once again thanks to the fall of the Prescott's influence, they seemed very happy to start doing serious work again.

It felt good to see that she did at least something right for a change. As a breeze from the sea hit her, her brown and pink hair started waving through the air.

Max went around a corner, not really having some kind of goal, and found herself next to a Supermarket. She stopped her walk all of a sudden as she spotted something unsettling. Her attention wasn't directed at the supermarket at all, but rather on the parking lot adjacent to it. Luckily for her, a lot of cars, some she recognized from fellow students, were still between her and the unsettling thing she had just seen. But even through the small gap between a red Cadillac and a brown jeep, she still saw him.

_What is Mr Walker doing there?_

One could think that a man standing in a rather crowded parking lot was nothing to be worried about, but Max knew better. She knew the trailer her teacher was standing right next to.

_What the fuck? That is Frank's trailer! Didn't he say he wanted to leave town? Be a better person?! Fucking hell, why should I even believe him? He tried to harm me and Chloe multiple times! Asshole must have lied straight to our faces._

After thinking about it again, she wasn't too surprised about Frank lying to them. He had no reason, to be honest, right? But what really disturbed her was the idea of Frank and Mr Walker working together.

"That piece of shit. Always had a bad feeling that I couldn't trust him." She grumbled to herself while trying to not be seen by her teacher.

Just what was he doing there? The elder man was simply standing in front of the door.

_Is he waiting? For what? His drug delivery?_

As the freckled girl carefully made her way towards the parking lot, she noticed that Mr Walker was holding some kind of cardboard box. Was he getting drugs from Frank? Or was he maybe even selling them to him?

 _But why would they do something like that in broad daylight? Maybe that makes it look less suspicious?_ The freckled girl thought as she nervously went through her hair. She would need to get even closer to see what was going on. Her heart was pumping as fast as possible as she moved behind a larger car that would mostly hide her small frame.

"Watcha doing there, hippie?" A well-known voice suddenly came from outside the supermarket. A tattooed and pierced blond man was looking at her suspiciously. Being caught off guard surprised her, but what surprised her just as much was the piece of clothing he was wearing. On his apron was a cartoonish fox, which for some reason was the mascot of the market behind the two of them, showing her a toothy smile.

"... Frank?"

"That's what some people call me, yes? Don't dodge the-" He stopped mid-sentence as his eyes moved to the man standing in front of his trailer. "For fuck sake." he rolled his eyes while moving towards the teacher.

"Ah! There you are, Mr Bowers… And Miss Caulfield?"

"Listen pal, I told you I don't need your help!"

So, he was trying to convince Frank. If that was true, then she could ask Frank to go to the police. Mr Walker would be taken into custody and-

"I have literally no use for this dog food."

 _Dog...food?... That must be it! There are drugs hidden inside… the dog food?_ Even the freckled girl herself found it hard to believe her own theory by now.

"I told you already since Paul died I've had those cans just standing around my place, and throwing the cans away seems like a waste!" Mr Walker was giving Frank a sympathetic smile.

"Do I really look that poor?" The blonde guy said, eyes narrowing.

"That has nothing to do with it. Gee, do you push everyone away that try to gift you something?" And it seemed like the teacher had hit a nerve because Frank stayed silent which was unlike himself. "I know that you don't get much cash, helping people pack their shit."

The delinquent gave Max a short look, she didn't fully understand, before saying "I just need enough to get the fuck outta town."

"W-Why do you force your stuff onto him, Mr Walker? He obviously doesn't want your dog food.

Hearing this, the elderly man raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I just love dogs that's all really. Back in my home town, I was part of a protection association for animals, and I just can't help but worry about them."

"You trying to say I treat Pompidou wrong?"

On that Mr Walker just rolled his eyes. "Okay, let me ask you one thing. Where's the harm in taking it?"

"I don't-"

"Aside from your pride being hurt, for some weird fucking reason." The redhead interrupted the man in front of him, and it seemed like not just Max was surprised by the sudden profanity her teacher used.

"You can't just… The fuck do you want from me in the first place?"

"Help your Pompidou. Told you that like ten times already."

"T-Then just give me the fucking cans and piss off." The delinquent grumbled while prying the box out of Mr Walker's hands. He put the food into his trailer quickly, while angrily mumbling to himself, "Didn't even got a cig break…" He then proceeded to get back to work, but not before telling Max, "Say Hi to Chloe from me."

"Why?" The brunette asked a simple question in return.

"Even if she doesn't fucking care about me, we were once friends, believe it or not."

As an answer, Max smiled weakly and nodded. "Uh-huh. Frank Bowers the softy."

"Whatever." And with that, he stomped into the market once again.

And it was just then that Maxine realized that she was suddenly alone in the parking lot. Alone with her photography teacher.

The freckled girl gulped, her blue eyes only reached his feet, and after a few awkward moments, she winced inwardly as her teacher raised his voice. "Finally, that grump accepted the food. Paul would bark angrily in heaven if he knew I wasted his food."

"I-Is it true? I mean that your dog…"

Mr Walker seemed nearly as surprised as Max as the question escaped her mouth. Why would she even ask? She felt like punching herself.

"Unfortunately yes, he died two weeks ago. I had him for good 12 years now, and he was simply getting to weak... " For a moment the brunette could swear that she saw a sparkle in his eyes but he quickly turned away before she could make sure. "But that's just how life is, eh? You can't resist time, can you?"

Max nearly laughed at the irony, but knew better and kept her mouth shut. Instead of saying anything her gaze fell on the floor yet again.

"You look like shit by the way." Her teacher stated out of the blue.

"... Excuse me?" The small girl was so perplexed by this statement, that she couldn't help but look him in the eyes, brows furrowing.

"Something troubling you?"

"I… I can't believe someone like you is a teacher…"

"Yea, I sometimes wonder too how it got to that." He shrugged. "So, why have you been crying?"

"I didn't cry, okay?" Max snapped at her teacher.

"If you say, so certainly looks like it, but hey you don't have to tell me." He said while once again shrugging casually. He then turned around and started heading towards the street again.

And there she was, standing alone in a parking lot, feeling like crap for screaming at him.

_Aside from just ruining my grade in photography, maybe this idiot just wanted to be nice?_

…

Max and Chloe were sitting on a wooden bench right next to the sandy beach of Arcadia Bay, looking as the sun was fighting its daily struggle against the darkness. Just about an hour ago the punk had been freed from her work for today, and now the two girls were sitting there, shoulder against shoulder staring at the sea, while Max told her girlfriend how weird her day had been so far.

"Damn, that sounds like a fucked up afternoon you had there, babe." Chloe said, before taking a pull from her cigarette.

"You think he'll let me fail his class now?"

"Honestly, maybe he will." And as she saw that the girl sitting on the bench next to her wasn't happy after hearing that Chloe slung the hand not holding her cig around the smaller girl. "Most teachers feel like they are some important person, but in truth, they are mostly looser."

The brunette leaned into her girlfriend's hug and let a sigh escape her lips. "I feel kinda guilty, to be honest. Maybe he meant good?"

"Maybe. But you know, if he gives you an F he will need to have reasons for it. If he really tries to make you fail, just force him to explain himself."

"Expose him?"

"Exactly. Assholes like him can't deal with shit like that."

"Sounds like there's a story behind this."

Chloe took another pull, shooting gray smoke into the air. The two colors, the gray smoke and the redness of the sun, created a fascinating color play right before Max's blue eyes, and even if she didn't like the smell, right now it made her girlfriend look even more sexy than usual.

"Course there's a story. Guy named Todd tried to blackmail me once after seeing me smoke on campus back when I was a student. Was supposed to give him some money, shit like that."

"God, that's terrible Che! Why have you never told me?"

"Meh, it was not that big of a deal." The blue haired girl shrugged. "Luckily for me, I found out that he was actually hiding a plushie in his room. A unicorn plushie."

"How the hell did you get that information?"

"Rachel had her way with people." Max could see Chloe's face crumble for a second, but then it put itself back together and the bigger girl went on with her story. "Anyways, I told all the girls about this little piece of information, until even bitches like Victoria heard of it. He never approached me again afterward."

"He deserved that, messing with my girl."

"That's my Max talking!" Chloe chuckled, squeezing her girlfriend's shoulder a bit.

"Anyways, it's time, isn't it? The brunette asked as she went through her hair with one hand.

"Are you sure you're ready though? This needs to be on your battleground, not theirs."

"Y-yeah, I think I am." Max retorted, taking the punk's hand in her own smaller one. "As long as I have you by my side."

She then pulled her smartphone out and started dialing her mother's number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little side chapter to get some more screen time for other characters I like to write about ^^'


	48. Forgiveness?

The last rays of sunlight were reaching through the window hidden behind an American flag, dipping the entire room in red colors. But slowly, as if the light was losing the fight, darkness started spreading through the whole room.

Max and Chloe were sitting next to each other on the blue haired girl's bed, the phone right between them with speakers on. Max had already dialed her parent's number. Now, they were simply waiting. Waiting for something to happen… Maybe her parents would call them first? Maybe they were not at home right now? Maybe Max mother didn't want to talk?

A lot of maybes.

But then, once the freckled girl started the call, it took mere seconds until someone picked up the phone.

A voice shot out of the smartphone as soon as the phone was accepted.

"I'm so sorry, Maxine! I was just shocked!" There was a short pause before her mother continued with less desperation in her voice. "But you can't just block me out of your life either."

"Why can't I?" As Max retorted with a toxic voice, Chloe glared at her. The punk's eyes were scolding her, and she knew why, but couldn't hold herself back either.

"Because I'm your mother!" The voice coming out of the speaker sounded dumbfounded as if this was written fact.

But still, the brunette couldn't deny that this left a hollow pain in her chest. Vanessa was right, of course she still loved her mother.

The freckled girl sighed heavily before retorting her mother. "You are right. I actually hate the idea of hating you, mom." Max could feel her girlfriend grabbing her hand, and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"It's just so… new for me, darling."

"I-I know."

Chloe could feel how her body relaxed, she didn't want her girlfriend to fight with her mother. Those fights were always pretty dirty. But then the punk noticed how Max facial expression changed to a sore one.

The reason the freckled girl was offended was due to the following question her mother asked: "You think that you'll ever going to be…"

The brunette frowned on that. What was the goal of such a question? What did her mother want to hear?

_If I ever gonna be normal again? I am normal! Just not your normal._

But instead of spitting her thoughts out, she swallowed them, and forced herself to stay as calm as possible. Not for herself nor for her mother, but for Chloe's shake. It seemed like the punk cared about their relationship and if there was one person Max didn't want to disappoint then it was this dorky blue haired punk right in front of her. But why was it so important for Chloe that Max and Vanessa got along.

_Maybe Chloe feels guilty? She probably thinks that this destroyed my connection to mom… Gee, why did I never think of that!_

The bigger girl was taken aback as a pair of worried blue eyes was searching something in her face.

"Max?" But it wasn't Chloe who called out for her, it was her mother. She blinked a few times but then composed herself quickly.

"N-No. I won't. I love women. I _love_ Chloe Price."

There was a noticeable pause after that… It felt almost as if Vanessa had hoped for… Well, for something to happen. It left a weird feeling in Max stomach. Even if she was angry, she still didn't want to disappoint her mother. So, she decided to be honest, and extinguish any stupid idea Vanessa might have. "I won't change. You have but one option here, and that is to accept who I am… Mother."

Maybe she noticed herself that her question had offended her daughter, or maybe she was just upset with the answer, but Vanessa's voice got a lot more hectic all of a sudden.

"I-I didn't mean to… I just… Of course, honey. We'll always love you."

Max couldn't hold the huff back. She didn't ask if _they_ would accept her, but if _she_ would. Was her mother dodging the question?

Yet another sigh left her mouth. "I know, mom. That's why I want you to understand that it won't be happening. I'm happy the way I am." The brunette emphasized once more.

Silence.

This time longer than before.

But then the oh so well known voice of her mother spoke up again. Quiet, almost like a whisper she said, "I guess I am just disappointed that I won't have grandchildren. I was looking forward to it after all."

"Y-You?..." Suddenly Chloe could feel how her hand was being crushed by a furious Max.

"Calm down, Maxster! It's okay, she didn't mean it like that she-"

"Wait honey, _she_ is listening? Why would-"

"-just wants to understand, you know?"

"-you let her listen, this has nothing to do with _this girl_."

"Shut up! Both of you!" Max finally exploded, after her mother and her girlfriend both didn't stop their barrage on their own. "How can you say something like this mom? Your happiness is at stake? Do you even think about me here? This is my fucking life we're talking about! I don't give a fuck about your grandkids that never existed!"

"M-Max, chill down, I'm certain Vanessa didn't mean it like that." The blue haired girl rested her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders, in an attempt to calm her down.

"And you Chloe? Why are you so chill about it? Normally you would already be cursing and screaming all over the place!"

"Don't you think one is enough?" But before Max could take that down the wrong pipe, The punk quickly added, "You are always there to keep me in check, so let me play the Max-part for once, will ya?"

The small girl was not angry at Chloe for this, it was actually adorable, but this whole situation was just frustrating to her.

"S-So, mom," Max started, trying to change the topic again. "Just to let you know, there are multiple options for us to have kids. But that is none of your business, and that you try to guilt trip me with something like this is nothing else but pathetic."

"I wasn't trying to guilt trip you at all Maxine! I… You know what, first I want _this girl_ to leave the room so that we can talk in private."

" _She_ has a name." The brunette said in such a calm yet menacing manner that the punk was getting wary. She couldn't let this go on any longer, or else Max and her mother would just fight again. So, without really thinking about the consequences like usual, Chloe grabbed the phone, while giving her girlfriend an apologetic look.

"Che?!"

But the blue haired girl hushed the smaller girl, putting her forefinger on her lips. To Chloe's surprise her girlfriend really did stay put.

She turned the speaker off before saying: "Uhm, hey Miss Caulfield… It's me Chloe… Chloe Price."

"I know who you are."

The Punk rubbed the back of her head. This was awkward. "I guess you do… Or did at least. A lot has happened, you know? Not my best years since you guys went off to Seattle, I'll be honest."

"... And?"

" _And_ it was no one else but your daughter that showed me a way out of this dark place I was lost in. You can trust me when I say that I'll do everything I can to make your daughter happy." The punk gulped before saying, "Because that's what this is about right? Max's happiness?"

Even though as calm as she was trying to be, Chle didn't expect the answer she would receive from Vanessa.

"Is that what you are telling my Maxine? All those promises are the reason why my little girl is angry at me?" Her girlfriend's mother said with such bitterness in her voice.

Chloe wanted to speak her mind so bad that she actually bit her own tongue while listening to Vanessa's answer. Only Because of the pain that was distracting her did she manage to keep quiet until Max's mother was done with her non so subtleinsult. "I don't know what it is you want to hear then. I love her and she loves me."

"Don't talk like you know my daughter better than I do! I was the one giving birth to her."

Mid sentence the blue haired girl simply stopped listening. It wasn't worth her attention. Instead, she eyed her angry girlfriend in front of her. She put the phone away from her ear, covering the microphone with her hand, and whispered, "You look really adorable all puffed up."

The brunette huffed in return, but then she indicated towards the smartphone in Chloe's hands. In her freckled face was the question _everything okay?_ written.

The blue haired girl bit her lips nervously while faintly shaking her head. Then, Max waved with her hand, signaling that she wanted to talk again.

Chloe was obedient and gave it to her, although she hesitated for a moment.

"Mom? It's me again."

"Ah darling! I'm once again really sorry that I hurt your feelings. I'll always be your mother, you know that honey?"

Max frowned once again, massaging her own temple. "I want you to apologize, mom."

"I already told you that I'm-"

"To Chloe, not to me."

"Max it's fine, I don't care really." The taller girl said a tad bit too fast, while hoping that the shrug made it more believable.

Max wanted to disagree because she knew that Chloe actually did care. But instead she was quite surprised as she heard a sigh coming from her mother. "I… It just feels like she has taken my little girl away from me…"

She hadn't expected this kind of that didn't mean she would forgive her just like that. "Mom, I'm not a little girl anymore. You need to be ready for me to change, you can't just stop that."

"... I know."

Max was pretty sure that if Vanessa would be able to turn back time, she would stop have stopped her from ever going back to Arcadia by now.

"I want you to apologize to my _girlfriend_ , mom." She repeated herself with a pressing undertone in her voice.

But trying to force her mother did have exactly the opposite effect Max had anticipated. "No honey, I won't. You can change all you want that doesn't mean I have to appreciate it. What if you one day call and say that you do heroin now? That's a change too!"

"Oh my god, did you just compare heroin with being gay? What is wrong with you!"

"I'm still your mother Maxine! Watch your tone!"

"I? You just basically said that my love was illegal just because you don't like it!"

"M-Max? Calm down, don't get upset because of her, it won't help ya." Chloe intervened.

The freckled girl blinked a few times with her blue eyes before realizing that she and her mother had been screaming at each other again. She exhaled sharply through her nose once… twice… three times before she continued the conversation. "Okay, mom, I should-"

"-This girl is still listening?! I told you that I want to talk in private! Tell her to-"

Max hung up.

Then, she threw the phone on the bed, and followed right after it, burying her face in the sheets.

"Uhm… Hey, y-you okay Maximus?" Chloe asked with a faint and careful voice, while shaking her girlfriend's shoulder.

"Uh-uh."

"Oh…"

…

After a long night in which Chloe had attempted to cheer her girlfriend up, with... moderate success at best, they finally managed to catch some shut eye, even though it felt like the sun woke them up immediately after that.

Max felt… sore after her fight with Vanessa, maybe even a bit guilty, but didn't regret anything she had said. If her mother wouldn't accept her then that wasn't her fault!... Right?

But she quickly forgot her worries as she noticed how unusually silent Chloe was while eating breakfast. Normally the punk would spit her half eaten meals all over the place. Right now she wasn't even truly eating, she just dunked her spoon into her cornflakes over and over again without taking a single bite.

""Che…you're not sulking are you?"

The bigger girl raised her shoulders just to let them fall again, while her blue eyes never left the bowl in front of her. "I try not to…"

"Are you… Are you angry with me?"

That finally brought the punk's attention away from the half eaten bowl of flakes. Though she only looked at Max for nothing more than a few seconds before evading her girlfriend's piercing blue eyes

"Not angry…"

"But?"

"Frustrated." Chloe groaned into one of her hands, just to use it for massaging her nose bridge afterwards. "I'm frustrated that you've got beef with your mom now. How do you put up with me if you feel like this every time I blow up?"

"Because I love you, dork."

"Fair enough." The blue haired girl retorted, trying to hide the small flush on her cheeks.

Afterwards there was yet again a few moments of silence between the two girls, even though this time less awkward than before. Then, Max decided to ask what had been in the back of her mind since yesterday.

"Che do you think this was your fault?"

Hearing this question, the blue haired girl -finally- looked up and her eyes didn't dodge Max's gaze after a few seconds for the first time today. Chloe's eyebrows were frowned together so that wrinkles were all over her forehead. "No I… Yes? Fuck it. I don't want this-" She pointed between her and Max. "To ruin your life."

"You know that what you're saying is bullshit, Chloe."

"It's not fair."

"What?"

"It is like this, I get so much from being with you while you only… get pain."

"And your love. And free food in Two Whales."

The punk's gloomy face finally lightened up, giving her girlfriend a not very serious glare.

"Very funny, smartass."

Although they had such a playful conversation at first, it fell apart rather quick again. Chloe was once again playing with her food, trying to distract herself from yesterday's call. Max on the other hand was getting frustrated herself with how this situation had concluded itself. She mumbled something about going to change, and stayed for the rest of their time before school started again, up in Chloe's room.

As they arrived at the Blackwell parking lot Max opened the door, stepped outside and looked one last time over her shoulder back at her girlfriend.

"Bye."

"Bye…"


	49. Throwback

Max Caulfield was sitting in class. At least physically she was… She didn't even bother trying to listen what was going on in her English class. All her thoughts were floating around Chloe and her mother. After her fight with Vanessa, Chloe seemed quite upset.

_This sucks!_

_Why is she pouting so much! Ah, fucking shit! I've never felt so frustrated in my whole life!_

The freckled girl groaned inwardly.

_Is Chloe angry at me for defending our relationship? Fuck that! What am I supposed to do then? Let my mother insult my girlfriend?_

Max let a groan escape her mouth while massaging her nose bridge _._

_No that's not true… This dork just wants to protect me. Che probably thinks that this is all her fault again… Would she break up with me just because of something as stupid as this?_

A shudder ran down her spine as she came to that potential conclusion. But would she really? Didn't Chloe love her? Or maybe she would break up exactly because she loved Max?

Somewhere deep down the brunette knew that this idea was nothing more but dog shit, but her inner voice wouldn't shut up.

All of those thoughts mixed with the students around her talking about the latest gossip and her English teacher trying to be even louder than them, explaining something about how the smart use of grammar was essential for a good text, was way too much noise. Max couldn't stay in here any longer. She needed some fresh air.

"Yes, Max? You have something to say?" Mrs. Hoida asked the freckled girl after she had raised her hand.

"M-May I go to the toilet? I don't feel so well…"

As a fellow woman, Mrs. Hoida thought that it was just the usual problem women have once in a while and didn't hesitate to excuse Max from her class.

"Sure, take your time."

Mrs. Hoida was nice. That's why the brunette felt a bit guilty now that her English and literature teacher was finally back. But she couldn't help it. She actually liked Mrs. Hoida's lessons but there were more important things she needed to get her mind wrapped around.

That Max didn't head to the restroom goes without telling. Instead, she was going out of the school building quickly, being careful to not be caught by Chloe's stepdad. She followed a small cobbled way that ended right in front of the nearby forest. Her eyes never left the ground that was why she didn't yet notice that the sky was wearing an ominous gray.

A few minutes later she was finally alone in the quiet of the woods. Sadly, the isolation and silence didn't give Max what she had hoped for. Instead, of calming down the freckled girl couldn't shut her inner monolog down at all. The rattling of the leaves mixed together with her mind working at full speed, pushing pictures of Chloe breaking up right before her blue eyes, created a static headache provoking noise.

Her steps quickened. The rattling was getting louder and louder, and the wind was howling through the deepness of the forest. The silence felt like… everything was staring at her. As if she were about to do an incredible trick and everything was good again. Snap twice with your finger, turn around three times and say the magic words.

_This is no fucking movie! There's no easy way out!_

The freckled girl couldn't take it any longer. She started running, tripping a few times, but nevertheless, the brunette sprinted into the thicket, with being able to shake the feeling of a pursuer off. The wind was even stronger than before, leaves were being blown through the air, and the first few raindrops fell onto the ground, right in front of Max. She looked at the wet spot right next to her left foot bewilderedly, before starting to run once again, panting loudly thanks to a mixture of exhaustion and panic.

The weather was getting worse by the minute now. The wind was crying, more, and more rain started pouring out of the sky and all colors were being tainted by a dark shade.

She needed to outrun the storm. She needed to be quick enough to make it back. Or… or…. It would take Chloe again!

"God damn it!" She yelled, using all the air that was left in her lung, to scream it into the stormy heavens.

Raindrops were running down her cheeks… But was the water really coming from the clouds? Her vision was so blurry that she had to ask herself. But why were only tears on her face and no rain anymore? Didn't it just start to pour down?

As the freckled girl looked up she couldn't notice it, yet only seeing clouds and crowns. It was when her gaze wandered down to the earth yet again that she realized that leaves were floating in the air. No, not just simply floating. Hovering.

She quickly used her t-shirt to clean her face, so that she could see normally again. Maybe, if not for that, she would've seen the deer, staring at her with its big round eyes, hidden between a few trees.

What she saw instead was sending a shiver down her spine. All around the brunette not just leaves but also millions of raindrops stood still in the air. It was almost like back when Kate…

_No, we're not going there!_

Even the dirt her foot had splashed away from stepping into it, was floating _._

_Don't be stupid, nothing of it is floating! I fucking stopped time again!_

She scolded herself. But despite being angry at herself, her mother and the whole world, the freckled needed to calm down. She had to. Okay, it was storming, which was unsettling. The time stop didn't help much either. But was Chloe right and the stop "just" occurred because she was worried about losing her girlfriend? But despite knowing all of this, her breath was still getting faster and hectically.

 _There's only one way to find out. If I calm down now and time starts running again that would make Che's theory at least a realistic possibility_.

But how does one stop oneself from having a panic attack? Doesn't the realization that you have an attack create even more panic in one's head? But still, she had to try.

Despite the shaking of her body, she tried to in and exhale long and deep. In her head, she first started counting numbers, but that didn't really work as much as she had hoped.

Now, she was starting to panic from panic… Tears welling up in her eyes she thought:

 _Fucking_   _ironic_

 _Then, a_  familiar voice popped into her head.

"It's quite simple, really. A good way to find some peace for a few minutes. Just focus on your breathing and don't get distracted that's all there is to it." Kate Marsh had explained to her after Max had asked why she meditated.

So, that was what Max started to do.

 _Inhale…. Exhale… Take air in… And out_...

If she were honest with herself, the freckled girl felt a bit stupid, standing in the midst of the woods, doing nothing but breathing. If anybody had seen her, that would be quite embarrassing. But luckily no one seemed to be around.

She Opened her blue eyes again, taking the first steps back from where she came from. After, about a minute she was on the way leading back to the academy.

Time was still frozen.

Soon after that she left the woods behind her and looked around herself. The school building was towering over her, and this was probably the first time she really looked at the building itself. The color of most of the academy, being a mixture of brown and red. The old fashioned style the one pleading the tower in the middle had. The statues all around the campus.

_Finally, I got the time to really observe the world around me… Funny, isn't it?_

She didn't have a real goal in mind, but somehow she ended right next to the girl's dorm. But she didn't give any thought to the building the Prescott's had funded. Her blue eyes were meeting one of many pairs of eyes, staring at her. The Tobanga totem was hidden behind some bushes, but still there, "alive", and well, staring at her with his wooden eyes.

It was weird, really. Before, she would've said that this thing was pretty creepy, but after all that had happened, all she's been through? It was almost like… it felt like this thing protected her.

_Or nature? The world? Time? This thing has been her from day one, and probably will be when I am long gone._

She wasn't sure where this weird train of thought came from, but before she could think any further about it, the world started breathing again.

…

"The fuck? You really don't need to apologize for anything. I should be the waste time for forgiveness…"

"But you are just worried about me." A high, somewhat nervous, voice retorted through Chloe's smartphone. "You said it yourself, you were simply frustrated."

"But was that really fair of me? I mean you were feeling even worse than me probably…" There was a pause between their call.

Max, not knowing what to do, after time had started moving once again, had already dialed her girlfriend's number before thinking about it.

By now it had become more of a reflex than anything, they talked over their phones whenever there was no time to meet up.

Still, full of angst, the girl stuttered an awkward apology, saying that it was her fault for being so stern.

At first, Chloe hadn't even cared about any of that. There were other things on the punk's mind. More important things.

"You okay, Maximus?... With the storm and all?

"Yeah…"

"Yeah  _no_ or yeah  _yes_?" The blue haired girl pressed again, knowing the truth already.

"... Yeah  _no_ probably."

"Okay, let me finish work, and I will be coming to you right after, okay?"

"S-Sure… You… You mind sleeping here tonight?"

"As long as my step- David doesn't catch me, course I will."

"I'm still proud of you for making up with Mr. Madsen."

Chloe would've rolled her eyes on that if Max would be there to see it. "Yeah right, as if that was not solely thanks to you."

She could hear Max's beautiful chuckle through the phone. "You can be pretty hard headed sometimes."

"Thank you, you're awfully nice today. But in all honesty, it's really not fair."

"What?"

"You saved my family like a thousand times, and in return-"

"Don't. Don't give me more of that bull-crap. You're not at fault here."

"Well, I… I just… Ugh!" There was a short pause in which -the freckled girl imagined- Chloe scratched her scalp like she sometimes did when she didn't know how to say something. "You know what? What's done is done. How it stands now fuck Vanessa." The blue haired girl said into her phone, shrugging her shoulders even if the smaller girl wouldn't see it. "Well, I uh, didn't mean to say it like that... " She added after a few seconds of reflecting her choice of words again. "She's still your mother and all."

"You know what? Fuck Vanessa. You got that right Chlo... But are you still… ya know angry and all?"

"What? Course not! Never have been! I just told you, so didn't I?" Right at that moment, Chloe realized something. She closed her eyes and sighed against the ceiling. "Fucking shit… You were probably hella worried…"

"Uhm… R-Right. But nevermind now." The brunette took a moment to gulp, wetting her dry throat. "Knowing that… everything is fine is g-good enough."

"... You're worried more than usual. What happened?...

It was probably the uncomfortable pause that gave Max away.

"Time stopped again?" Of course, Chloe would notice that Max was upset. But what the punk didn't know was that she wasn't the sole reason for it. "I… I fucked up again, didn't I?"

"You? If I remember correctly I was the one that was messing with time, not you Che." Her girlfriend's voice was trying to be cheerful, but couldn't fool the punk.

Afterward, Chloe explained to Max once again that she wasn't being angry at all, and both of them apologized to one another once more, even though neither of them was really at fault for what had happened. They both desperately wanted Vanessa to accept them as they are, and of course, neither of them could control the whole time debacle at all. The only thing they really wanted was to be left in peace.

Chloe ended their call soon, but after her shift in the cafe was over she would come over to the academy, so Max shouldn't need to worry anymore. Then, they could talk about this ordeal again.

_But what's there to talk about? She can't control it, so the only solution we have right now is if she doesn't worry about me… In other words, if I wasn't here…_

But she quickly shook her blue-haired head violently.

_No… No, that wouldn't make her happy if she knew that I had even thought about something this stupid._

Instead of brooding about it any longer, she flicked the cigarette butt away and made her way back into the store, after all her cigarette pause had been long over already.

"There you are, Chloe! We've got the order for a table on the window and the couple on the left getting cold over here." A college nodded at two plates full of food, waiting to be eaten.

"Aye Aye captain."

Her college just rolled his eyes, not paying enough attention to the girl to notice how nervous she was after her phone call with Max. At least he didn't

Hands shaking, cold sweat running down her back she brought said food to the customers, who was looking at her with one brow quirked in worry. "You okay miss? Look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"S-Sorry, not my day, is all."

"Hmm, we all have some bad days, just take it easy, will ya?"

"If you could tell that my boss, that would be great." Chloe tried to save herself with some petty small talk jokes. And succeeded in it, as the customer chuckled, but otherwise seemed content.

This happened a few more times, each just added to the stress the punk was already under, even if each one who asked if everything was okay was doing it out of friendliness.

_Friendliness... Probably… Or they're all just awfully polite. Can't they just fuck off for today?_

Until now Chloe was always able to do some rather good small talk, which even surprised herself. But today everything seemed so… meaningless.

_I'm working my ass off while Max is sitting alone in Fuckwell, being all gloomy and stuff…_

_Can't blame her though. Just want to be there to hold her, and make sure that she is happy. She deserves to be, having done so much good already. She saved thousands of fucking lives and no one even remembers any of that!_

_She's a hero, a real one, but has been scarred pretty badly from it. From him. And it should be my job to nurse her. Not give some rich students their super duper yummy extra bio diet soda drink that is definitely not Cola, even though it is._

By now she was pissed at everything around her, it all was taking her precious time that she could spend with her girlfriend. But thankfully, through all that inner rage, she didn't notice herself that it was already closing time.

She didn't wait a second to change and headed out immediately afterwards, having such goose steps that she could hear a customer say "Whoa, someone's hasty." But didn't pay that person any further attention. Imagining a depressed, scared Maxine, Chloe didn't want to waste time for anything else but getting to Blackwell Academy.


	50. Daily routine or...

"But you don't look like it…"

"I told you already, I'm fine Che, stop being such a worry wart!" Even though Max knew that this was only partially right, she still said it, not wanting to make Chloe feel even worse than she already did.

_She thinks that's my panic attack I had in the woods was all her fault…_

Of course, Maxine had told the blue haired girl all about the time stop that occurred in the forest just a few hours ago, keeping secrets was the last thing she planned for their relationship.

"Chlo, you told me that you're not angry with me. That is all I really care about, no need to burn yourself on a stake for me."

"I just…" The punk's blue eyes fell onto the ground as she took her beanie off. "Shit…" She grumbled silently to no one particularly. "This sucks."

"Preach it sista." Max retorted, which brought a small smile on the bigger girl's face.

"You almost sound like me finally, proud of me to corrupt you. But there's still something missing… Maybe you really need one or two tats."

"Just because I dyed some of my hair doesn't mean I'll become as punk rock as you are."

"Talking as if you had anything to say in that matter. How cute."

And just like that the two of them overcame this little pebble in their relationship. They loved…  _needed_ each other way too much by that point.

"So, all good?"

The brunette nodded quickly. "All perfect… Well, almost… But at least your theory seems confirmed now. As stupid as it may sound now, after talking to you, I was scared about us... or maybe it was just the storm scaring me after all, but I still thought that I might've lost you."

Chloe already stated her opinion multiple times by now, so telling her girlfriend how stupid that idea sounded yet again wouldn't make a difference. So instead, she tried to take this new puzzle piece in. Her forehead creased in thought. "But where does that lead us? Is it really about me, or you just worrying over anything? Maybe it's your worry in general that triggers the stops?"

"I don't know…" The small girl shrugged. "But what I do know is that I am in dire need of cuddling."

Chloe couldn't stop the toothy grin from popping up on her face. She stood up from the sofa and sat down next to her girlfriend on Max's bed. The punk spread her arms, inviting the freckled girl, who obliged, crashing into the bigger girl. The blue haired girl could feel Max's warm breath hit her throat, as she snuggled into the punk's collar.

The two girl's let themselves fall into the mattress. Chloe's sight was full of brown hair which smelled so wonderfully nostalgic. She loved the way the girl in her arms smelled, felt, sounded, and pretty much everything in between as well. The punk's arms tightened around her girlfriend so that she could have more of the sensation.

_More of the Maxsation._

She bent her head a bit to the side and whispered into the other girl's ear "Happy?"

Max's face was pressed against the bigger girl's collar, so the only audible thing that came out was a muffled "Uh huh."

It was worth it. Everything was worth  _this_. It was worth it, but Chloe still needed some air.

"Hey, Maximus, mind rolling to the side? kind of hard to breathe when you're squishing down on my lungs."

"Are you saying I'm fat?" The freckled girl just got an eye roll as an answer, but still moved to the side, still resting her head on the blue haired girl's shoulder.

From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw how the small girl was looking up towards her.

"Searching for something?"

"Nah, just found it." And without further explaining herself, she kissed the punk on the cheek.

"... Dork"

…

The next few days were rather boring, and aside from the feeling that both school for Max and work for Chloe felt at least twice as long as it was supposed to, everything was okay.

" _Okay" might not be the right word here… I still haven't talked to my mother at all. And time is still fucked it seems…_

But aside from those two things, everything was going pretty well. Max had -finally caught up to the other students, and could turn down her afternoon learning sessions a bit, and Chloe was having a good time as a waitress believe it or not. She was actually enjoying to do something. She felt some kind of purpose again. It wasn't her dream to be a waitress forever, of course not, but after such a long time of doing nothing to have work again was surprisingly… fun, even if the punk wouldn't admit something like that.

Right now, Max, Kate, Warren, and Brooke were sitting in the school hall, around a table. Nothing important was going on, they were simply chilling, talking about their science lesson. At least until Brooke and Warren startedslandering, , which of course Kate disapproved of.

"... But it still surprised me." Warren said.

Brooke gave an agreeing hum, supporting his statement. "She seems so 'I can do and be everything' but that she would actually fuck up the test is a real shocker."

"As if you two with your super brains never failed any subject before." Kate retorted, trying to sound not too defensive.

"I take offense in that. As if I, super Warren, could ever fail in science." Warren retort while winking towards Kate.

"He's probably right, Kate." Brooke pointed out. Max was not quite sure if the Asian girl was serious, or if she just wanted to compliment her crush, not that Warren would notice the girl next to him as usual. For a bystander, it was plain as day that there was a sparkling in Brooke's eyes, each time she looked at the nerdy boy.

Even though it was meant as a joke, Kate didn't feel like kidding around about her newfound friend. "And she would be offended if she knew you guys were bad mouthing her."

"Don't you think you're being unfair?" Brooke intervened.

"Why?"

"She did the same thing for the last year. Just because she now plays the nice girl, doesn't mean she doesn't deserve it for what she did before."

"That's… not right."

"Tell that Victoria first."

Until now Max hadn't said much, after all, she had enough she was brooding about even now, but now this conversation caught her attention. "You're wrong here Brooke. See, repeating mistakes, repeating history is leading nowhere. Change is the only step forward."

That comment earned the brunette a nasty glare from Brooke that said pretty much this:  _Who do you think you are?_  
Max didn't even notice, as she didn't really care about the whole conversation, to begin with.

"Exactly!" Kate appreciated the help she got from Max. "You can't say 'Oh Vic was mean so I will be mean too, but I am innocent for doing it…' That doesn't make sense!"

But there was no witty answer because the freckled girl was already lost in her mind again.

_It's the way I saved Chloe, otherwise, all of you would be dead…._

Of course, the brunette couldn't say that out loud, but it still somewhat shattered her mind. She remembered things she hoped to be forgotten by now. They weren't.

But the problem really was not her past, or at least right now it wasn't. Max still had her moments where she got thrown back in nightmarish scenarios that never happened here, but still left scars. What really occupied her right now was that it wasn't over. It was still not over. Even after all she had been through, time was still stopping as soon as she got a bit worried. She had weird as dreams about snakes and there was still this damn key that made no sense at all.

_Just what is it good for?! What do these fucking numbers mean anyway? 9412? That supposed to be a warning?_

_Then, there_  was a surprising call.

It was a good timing for it actually because now none of her friends could be able to notice the change in Max's expression. Now, the worry was cast away as her face was full of surprise. The only person she could imagine that would call her at the moment would be Chloe, but wasn't she working?

_It actually is Chloe!_

She realized as soon as she looked at her screen. Not wasting any time, she answered the call with "What's up Chloe?" So that the others would know who it was. It also somewhat counted as an excuse to leave the group for a moment. To be honest, Warren and Brooke nitpicking everything Victoria was doing was getting on her nerves. She was a bitch yes, but -or at least Kate was convinced that- the queen bee was trying to be better. Wasn't that worth at least something?

Anyways, as soon as she was a few steps out of hearing range from the others Max said, "Okay seriously why aren't you at work?"

"Lovely to talk to you too. I asked my Chef if I can have my break a few minutes earlier."

"More like a few hours."

"Whatever Maxy sassy. What's really important is that your freaking mother called me while I was working."

"What!?" The freckled girl said, voice high thanks to the surprise.

"Exactly! I couldn't answer, of course, standing right before a customer. I also… It's a bit embarrassing, but I'm kind of scared to do."

"N-No, we should do that together, you did right by not answering alone. She would've used that for to her advantage."

"Y-Yeah, right. When I'm done I'll drive to yours?"

"Naa, I will just come to yours, we got more privacy there than here with those thinner-than-a-model-walls."

"Okay, sure. I'll try to get off a few minutes earlier today too."

"Che…"

"Yeah?"

"Don't stress yourself."

"What? But… It's your mom and all…"

"That's exactly why."

"Babe, don't come at me with some 'I will work through it alone' bullshit."

Chloe could hear a cute chuckle coming from the other end of the phone. "No, of course not. As if I would get away with something like that."

"Hmpf!"

"But you said it yourself, it's just my mother. She is not a kidnapper or a natural disaster. She's just my mom."

"... Heh, We really had it though."

"I guess… Let's not lose ourselves over something trivial like a parent child conflict."

"They can be brutal though."

"The veteran is speaking."

"Bite me."

"Later. You're still working, right?" Max quipped back, a small laughter accompanying her words.

Chloe was still surprised how much her childhood friend had changed. She was getting sassier, and way more open minded than ever before.

 _Making me proud young padawan._  The punk thought to herself while letting out a small chuckle of her own. "You little dork, for real now see ya later."

"Sure. Drive carefully."

"Yes, mom."

The call ended right after, and Max put her phone away, shaking her head, never losing her smile.

As the brunette came back she found Brooke and Warren still sitting at the table but Kate was gone. But she didn't even need to ask why the blonde girl had disappeared because Warren's shadow didn't wait a second to tell Max that she had gone off to talk with Victoria. Even the nerdy boy was frowning now by now.

"I didn't think Kate would choose her over us," Brooke said, not hiding the toxicity in her voice.

The freckled girl's mouth was already open, ready to defend her religious friend, but there was no need to. "What? Wait a second Brooke, she didn't choose anyone. Don't make it sound like she betrayed us."

 _Did I just hear that right? Warren told Brooke to shut up? This day is getting crazier and crazier…_ Max thought, and only now noticing that her mouth was still open. She quickly closed it and then risked a peek at Brooke.

"Why didn't she? She ran to the people we hate, probably telling them that we just talked about Miss Chase failing her test."

"Hate? Gee, I don't like her, but that doesn't mean that I hate her. Why are you even deciding something like that for me?"

"I just…"

"Oh and also, it's not our business with who Kate hangs out. Right now you're acting just like Victoria used to."

_Ouch, that hit home._

Brooke was speechless. But that wasn't the problem. The tears running down her face were. She hissed an "Asshole." turned on her heels, and stomped off.

"What's her problem?" The naive boy said, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

Max couldn't believe it. Was he cereal? How could he not get it? "You're an idiot, even if you were totally right to tell her off."

That didn't help his confusion at all, but the brunette didn't even think about explaining  _that_ to him and left him standing there as well.

…

"Oh hello, Max. Didn't know you were coming over, but there's surely enough food for the five of us."

"I'm not feeling hungry anyway. But thanks for the offer Joyce."

Chloe's mother narrowed her eyes. "You saying that because you don't want to be a bother?"

"Well I-"

"You are not. Just making that clear." Joyce then turned towards the stairs yelling "But my daughter never telling me when someone comes over that is a bother!"

Just moments later Max heard a "Sorry mom!" being yelled back. A few loud steps, followed by a door being swung open and there she was. Chloe Price was looking down on them with a big grin on her face.

"At least you apologize for it now."

"C'mon mom, give me a chance. Next time I will tell you when Maximus comes over, okay?"

"Sure darling." Joyce retorted not even listening really while heading back into the kitchen.

"You will forget it again, won't you?" The freckled girl asked as soon as she climbed half the stairs.

"Of course, but it's all about selling oneself."

"You're a dork."

Then, finally, Max swung her arms around Chloe, giving her the best bear-hug she could manage. Moments later they were making out until they noticed that they were still standing next to the stairs.

" _Ahem…_  Maybe we should eat first?"

"S-Sure."

Half an hour later the food was being served, and Max was of course not able to stop Joyce from giving her something as well. She simply got a frown and a head shaking in response.

_Joyce is a mother through and through._

Despite her efforts to not be a bother to the Prices, Max couldn't keep the moan of satisfaction as she tasted the potato salad.

"How can this be so good Joyce?"

"Experience, sweetie."

To both Max and Joyce surprise Chloe asked something unusual. "By the way, where is David? Working late again?"

"Yes, I have left him some in the refrigerator, for when he comes home."

"Ah. Okay."

The freckled girl blinked a few times looking at her girlfriend, who was already focusing again on inhaling her food. But Max didn't miss the small smirk of Joyce, hidden behind a fork full of food.

They helped to clean dishes for a bit, while Chloe received one or two comments about how she never helped when Max wasn't around.

"Max is just too good. She would help you even if I went upstairs, so the only way to get her in my room is if I speed things up."

"Whoa, I didn't expect any logic behind your laziness to be honest," Max commented from the side. Joyce agreed with a chuckle.

It was too easy to tease Chloe when Joyce was present.

_But maybe I should hold back a little more, or she will pay me back later... Maybe I wanna see that._

A few minutes later the couple was sitting in Chloe's room. Both felt how the mood was worsening as neither of them really anticipated the call they had to do.

"Hey listen Chlo, I think... " Max stopped for a moment, looking onto the floor. "I'm sorry that my mom is making such a fuss. We've both much more important things to do and I-I really appreciate that you're here."

The punk looked at the girl that couldn't even face her skeptically.

 _Looks like some of the old shy Max still is inside of her._ Chloe thought. But that's okay. She was always a worry-head

"You sound like the Max from October again, right now."

The freckled girl was quite taken aback by that statement. "I-I just… want everything to work…" Max responded with a gloomy tone in her voice.

It took the blue haired girl a moment. She looked at her girlfriend, frowning. "I didn't mean that in a bad way Maximus."

"Oh, um…"

"I mean just take a look at me now, and compare me with the Chloe a month ago. I got everything I could wish for **."**

"That's cute, but you-"

"I'm quite serious. After I nearly punched you the first time I saw you, everything in my life went for the better. All that hate, that I couldn't even take out on anyone just  _poof_. Well, I ain't perfect, but-"

Before she could elaborate the smaller girl had already embraced her in a tight hug, burying her face in Chloe's chest.


	51. A room for two

"But dude, we're driving to Seattle!"

Max, who was sitting on the passenger's seat, rolled her eyes. She couldn't share her girlfriend's enthusiasm. "Most big cities are the same, and you've already been to Portland."

"Doesn't count. We were on a mission back then. This time I can truly enjoy the sight of skyscrapers."

"I sure hope we will have the time for that. There's a good chance that this will end with me being exiled. But yeah Seattle is pretty nice."

"I and Rachel always wanted to come here someday!" For a moment Max was scared that this might destroy the good mood, but Chloe seemed to not even notice anymore.

 _Maybe she really did accept her death? It's getting better, that's for sure._  At least that was what Max was hoping.

The call had been weird, just as one could have expected. Awkward silence, a word that nobody dared to speak out loud. But a Chloe was still mildly pleased that neither Vanessa nor her girlfriend had yelled at each other. But in the end, nothing had been sorted out. Now it had reached the point where it was just frustrating to Max. In short, it was nothing anyone would want to witness.

"Also, in Seattle will be way more going on than half a house party once a month, right?"

"You seriously asking me about the nightlife in Seattle?  _Me_?"

"Duh, or do you see any other nerds that lived in Seattle for years?" The punk turned hat she could face her girlfriend with a toothy smile for a moment, before looking back at the road which they were driving on.

"... I guess not. It's just like any other big city though." Max raised her shoulders and let them fall again.

She knew that this was not true. Seattle had been amazing. There were so many places she wanted Chloe to see, but... not like that.

 _Not while my mom plays being an asshole_.

"And that's where you are wrong, my little naive Maxissimus. It's not just another big city. Seattle is the  _biggest_  city." The punk stated, before mumbling, "In Washington at least."

It was a beautiful sunny day for November, of course, it was still chilly outside but being in the farm shell that was Chloe's truck, neither of them minded. To their left, they could see a pretty and romantic sunset, painting the world in a deep red.

Despite it getting dark the two drove a bit longer. They still needed to cover some ground if they wanted to reach Seattle tomorrow morning.

"It really sucks. I shouldn't have gone to class today, then we would've had more time." Max grumbled, already feeling a bit sleepy.

"Hey, you really shouldn't cut classes too much. Today is Friday, that means we got the whole Saturday and most of Sunday, aside from that hella intimidating conversation. And driving through the golden hour is hella cool as well."

"True… Haven't heard you say that for a while." The freckled girl noticed.

"Intimidating?" Chloe quipped back, trying to sound confused."

Max rolled her eyes even if she knew that Chloe was staring at the street. "Dork."

And with that, the two girls fell back in a comfortable silence. Despite her usual act, and the look of the truck, Chloe was a careful driver, never stepping onto the gasoline too much. The punk tried not to race to Seattle. They had time, and Chloe enjoyed those moments in between.

The road ahead was clear of traffic, so the punk turned her head around to say some half prepared sassy comment like she usually did, but was stopped by the sight of her girlfriend. Max, eyes closed, had her head laid against the window. The only movement was coming from her chest, as she was calmly breathing in and out.

 _She looks so at peace. Sometimes I forget how pretty Max can be_. Chloe took a mental picture of her sleeping girlfriend next to her.

"We should find a place to sleep, huh?" The blue haired girl said more to herself than to the already snoozing girl next to her.

…

"Max? Hey, Maxi." It was hard for Chloe to wake up Max, destroying such an adorable looker.

_But what needs to be done, needs to be done. For the greater good!_

"MAX!"

"Mm. I'm here. Don't… yell… It's not like I-I slept." The freckled girl let out a loud yawn. "Where are we again?"

It was just right then that Chloe decided that trading sleeping Max for sleepy Max was acceptable.

"We're at a freeway motel, you little pudding of adorableness."

"Don't want pudding. Hate pudding." The freckled girl frowned after a moment. It seemed like even Max herself didn't get what she was trying to say. "Anyways, what are we doing here?"

"Sleep. Driving without sleep is not much better than while being drunk."

"Uh huh…"

The punk couldn't help it anymore. She shifted her body over to Max and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Hey… don't take advantage on me just because I just woke up."

"Feels more like you're trying to seduce me with your cuteness."

For that, the blue haired girl got shoved away gently by the smaller girl

"Shut up."

And so she did, but before showing her girlfriend her sassy smile again. She then took Max's hand, pulling the smaller girl out of the car.

…

"Good evening, girls." A relatively old looking woman greeted the couple as they entered. Brown hair, that was in some places turning gray already, brown eyes hidden behind glasses with dark circles under them, but the woman still had a friendly smile on her face.

"Hello." Max greeted her back while waving her hand shyly. Chloe simply nodded towards the woman.

"I'm Rosemarie, but everyone calls me Rose. So, I guess you want one room each?"

"Naa, one is enough for us both." The blue haired girl answered, a small grin on her face. This Rose frowned, giving the two of them a look which neither of them really got.

 _Maybe Chloe's appearance just makes her suspicious?_  The freckled girl tried to conclude.

"There's only one bed per room though."

"It's okay, we don't want to spend too much money. We're sadly not that rich." Max quickly said, having an idea what was going on with the woman named Rose.

As the freckled girl spook, the weird look on the receptionist's face quickly disappeared, which confirmed what Max was thinking. "Okay then. One room for you two coming right up for Miss...

"Oh, right. Name's Chloe Price. That cute girl next to me is Maxine."

And right then, the suspicious face was back again. Seemed like Chloe didn't get it the first time.

A loud sigh came out of the woman's mouth before she explained, "Listen, girls, no offense you seem nice and all. Maybe you should go to Joe's Motel. It's just about ten minutes away from here. Just follow the main road."

The blue haired girl frowned on that. "What? Why? We have the money, we can even pay up front if that is your problem."

Rosemarie slowly took off her glasses, and now she was looking Chloe right into her eyes. With another sigh, she stated, "Let me be blunt then, I don't want folks like you in my motel."

"Like us?" Chloe was getting angry. Max could see the rebellious fire in the bigger girl's eyes.

"Let's leave Chlo." The freckled girl tried to calm her enraged girlfriend.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck. I cannot let her do something stupid! She's going to kill the receptionist!_ She could already picture it. Glasses shattered on the floor, Rosemarie holding her bleeding nose. Max prepared herself to rewind so that-

"You're right," Chloe said. "Let's get out of this shit hole of a motel."

"I… Y-Yeah. Fuck this." The brunette spoke her mind not noticing herself as perplexed as she was. Though, she quickly gathered herself, took Chloe's hand, and pulled her out of the motel.

"You okay Maximus?" The blue haired girl looked at the smaller girl, worried about how Max just acted.

"I? I'm just freaking relieved."

"Relieved because we got kicked out by a homophobic motherfucker?"

Realizing how confused the taller girl was right now, Max couldn't help but laugh. "Che, I seriously thought you were gonna kick that woman's teeth in."

Chloe hesitated for a moment with her answer. That pause did not go unnoticed by her girlfriend, who immediately realized:

_She's fighting… For me._

It was touching. She was trying to change, trying to be a better person. It was time to leave the past. Time to accept the present.

"She wasn't really worth it, literally. I have to keep my boots clean since we decided to do our little spontaneous trip to Seattle. Can't afford new shoes, y'know?"

"... Thank you."

"For not hitting an old woman? Sure." Chloe shrugged it off like nothing, turned around and started walking towards her rusty truck again.

Max rolled her eyes, knowing that she would need to be more direct if she wanted to get through Chloe walls of stubbornness. She stopped the bigger girl, grabbing the back of her blue jacket.

"No, you idiot. She deserved a good beating." Max said quickly before Chloe had time to turn around. "You are amazing." The freckled girl stated, facing the ground as she was too embarrassed to look up to her girlfriend.

"Not rea-"

"You keep on trying every single day. Y-You, don't always achieve what you want, yes even fall face first on the floor sometimes. But that doesn't stop you from standing up so that you can try again in the end."

"Max I-"

"You're the strongest person I know Chloe Price... And I… I want you to know that I'll always love you, even if you should fail sometimes. So, don't be scared to do mistakes. Learn from them. Don't repeat them anymore. And I just keep on rambling, don't I?" As she spoke the name of her loved one, her eyes found the taller girl's, and they stood there for a moment simply staring at each other.

"You're such a dork." The punk retorted after all of that, a chuckle in her voice. Then, her face sobered up quickly. "I couldn't keep on keeping on without you, you know that don't you?"

Now it was Max who was smiling. "Good. One more reason why you have to stay with me then."

"Yeah, I don't even have a choice in that matter."

"You bet you don't." And after a small sigh, that freed the brunette from all the tension in her body, she added: "Sorry for being so serious all of a sudden."

"I might know a way how you can atone your sins."

"Oh. How?"

A long drawn out "Well…" was followed by Chloe pressing her lips against the smaller girl's. The punk then whispered in her girlfriend's ear: "Like that."

Right at that moment, before neither of them had a chance to say anything else, they heard a voice yelling: "Didn't I tell you two gays to get out of here?!"

"Fuck off, bitch." Chloe didn't hesitate to flip the receptionist off.

The two girls ran the rest of the way, not looking back but hearing angry screams from the lovely Rosemarie.

Back in the punk's noble steed, the two girls didn't hesitate to drive away from the hostile woman. They landed back on the road they came from and decided to follow Rose's idea. They would just sleep in the next motel which was supposed to be only ten minutes away.

After a bit over half an hour, both girls accepted the fact that the elderly woman wasn't just an asshole but also a liar. No houses, no signs, nothing. Just the road in front of them.

"That cunt. Ten minutes my ass." Chloe grumbled angrily to herself. She was getting sleepy now too, which didn't help her driving skills or her mood.

"Just forget it, Che. Let's park somewhere and sleep in the car for the night." Max suggested. After another ten minutes of frustrated driving, Chloe was forced to accept her girlfriend's idea, parking the truck on the side of the street. For a moment the two girls's sat there dumbfounded. Neither of them had anticipated to sleep in the truck, but they still made the best out of it.

Chloe used her and Max's jackets as a pillow, while the freckled girl could use the punk's chest as one. Their limbs were twisted awkwardly to make it fit, and it was uncomfortable- "As fuck!" The blue haired girl stated her opinion on their situation. Then, something weird happened.

Max started laughing.

"This is so typical, I can't even…" The small girl couldn't even finish her sentence, tears building up in her eyes.

"That's not funny! Stop! You're the worst!" Chloe said, trying to sound serious. The trying wasn't much more than that because the blue haired girl couldn't stop herself from joining her girlfriend.

It was probably a good thing that nobody was driving past them at that moment. He or she would've been pretty confused why two girls were laying on one another laughing like maniacs.

At some point, they calmed down though and decided it was time for some shut eye.

"You think we can leave the lights on… Sorry…"

"You think that they bother me? I've probably gotten as used to them as you have by now, really." Chloe clarified with an eye-roll. The punk then pecked Max's forehead. " Love you, you little dork. G'night."


	52. Welcoming

"This. Is. Insane."

"They're pretty big, yeah."

"Big?! They are gigantic! How high do you think are they?"

"Chloe, those are just a few simple skyscrapers." The smaller girl pointed out.

"But... They're huge n' stuff…" Chloe said, a little bit of sulk in her voice.

Max, noticing the shift in her girlfriend's tone, realized that she was being a buzzkill at the moment, and felt a little sting of guilty because of it.

_I know that she's just trying to stay calm for my sake. I shouldn't nag like that..._

But they were just a few minutes away from her parent's house now, and she was feeling nervous, trying to come up with arguments for the coming discussion.

"Sorry…" The freckled girl playfully shoved Chloe in an attempt to lighten the mood again. "Hey, after all this shit is done we can do some sightseeing, okay?"

It seemed like those were the right words, as the punk's smile returned on her face. "Sure."

Chloe parked the car, not far from the Caulfield's household and the two girls stepped out of the truck. It was just then that the first drop of rain hit Max's nose.

"Huh?"

Almost immediately after that water started pouring down from above.

"For fuck sake!" The brunette yelled as she started running towards her old home. She could hear her girlfriend laughing from behind her, and groaned.

 _Such perfect timing, as if the gods are making fun of me_.

As they finally arrived at the door of the house, they were pretty much soaked. Now, protected by a projecting roof, Chloe took a brief moment to check how Max was doing. Her girlfriend seemed to be okay, for the circumstances at least. "How are you holding up?"

"Really? Can't we just get in already?"

The punk blinked a few times in confusion. Max was standing under a cloudy heaven, and wasn't getting a panic attack.

 _Maybe she simply doesn't notice, or maybe she's making progress?_  But the blue haired girl decided to not ask the smaller girl, instead, she nodded towards the door. "Should I knock or anything?"

"Sure, what could go wrong." Max quipped back.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

They didn't need to wait for long, as her parents had been waiting already for the two of them. The door swung open, and despite Max not expecting it, her mother greeted her with open arms. "Oh sweetie, we really need a towel for the two of you. Get inside, fast!" She pulled Max in, while not looking at the punk even once. Chloe simply shrugged it off and stepped inside as well.

"Hon, Maxine is home! Can you get her some towels?"

The two girls could hear a deep voice yelling: "Sure thing!" from a room deeper inside. While they were waiting for something to dry themselves with, the punk took that as a chance to look around.

It was… pretty basic hallway to be honest. There was a shelf with shoes in it, and a hallstand for jackets. A few pictures of -probably- family. And a big scarf from an ice hockey team she didn't know.

A few steps further away were a few open doors. As far as she could make it out, the living room was to their right and a bathroom straight ahead of her. But that was just what she could see from the entrance.

_Seems comfortable._

Max took her wet shoes off and pulled her soaked socks off from her feet, marching to what Chloe thought was the living room. It didn't even occur to Chloe to follow her girlfriend, but still, there was a demanding voice stopping her from doing so.

"Wait here," Vanessa said, surprisingly not as harsh as the punk had expected. Then, her girlfriend's mother turned around following her daughter.

A few moments passed with Chloe just standing in the hallway, the cold from the wet clothes slowly making itself noticeable.

Then, a mountain of a man came out of the presumed living room.

"There she is! Our little troublemaker has grown up!" Max father said, with a loud and firm voice. "What are you waiting for, Chloe? Come inside." Ryan invited her, not knowing or caring that his wife had commanded her to do the exact opposite.

"S-Sure."

The blue haired girl was taking a few steps inside now, face focused on the wooden floor. She then almost ran into the big man in front of her, who had spread his arms out, ready to embrace her. A friendly smile playing over his face he said: "You changed so much and yet you still look so much like your father."

It took a moment to sink in. She remembered seeing his stupid face with that big smirk that was for some reason always there, right in front of her. She remembered hearing him defend his daughter's shenanigans against Joyce. She remembered how the two of them stayed up late swaying in the swing that was still in their garden. She remembered the sound of his laughing, how even if it was hard sometimes he always smiled brightly.

He? Her father?... William Price?... Why did that name sound so alien?

But before the water in her eyes could leak out, Max's father had already embraced her, the smile gone from his face. "Gee I and my big mouth, huh…"

Memories were lifted from the cloud of pain and anger that had been build up for years. But this was not the time to cry Chloe knew that much, so she sniffed the liquids which tried to escape out of her nose back up, and said: "It's okay. I just… I just didn't think about him for a long time, I guess?"

_Not without hate poisoning my mind._

And for one last moment, she lost herself in the bearhug before taking a few steps back.

"I… I'm sorry for all the trouble I'm causing."

On that Ryan raised an eyebrow, asking: "Don't let my daughter hear that. She wouldn't like you saying something like that, would she?"

"Probably." The punk shrugged.

"Hear me out, there is no need to ever apologize for falling in love..." He said the last part with an unreadable face.

Then a towel was pushed against Chloe. "C'mon now, time to dry up. I don't want to see how scary my little devil would get if you caught a cold because of me."

Imagining her girlfriend being angry at her father for something so trivial let Chloe frown at first, but then a grin crept on her face, as she couldn't help but find the idea adorable.

"Don't even think about it, Chloe." Ryan quickly added.

"Still, can't hide anything from you, can I?" The blue haired girl retorted, with a chuckle in her voice, not even trying to deny that she was had been tempted.

A few moments later Ryan, followed by Chloe, entered the living room. Once again, the punk took her time to look at her surrounding. In front of her was a wooden table, windows right behind it, to her right was another door which lead into the kitchen and to her left was a staircase that lead up. Also, there was a TV on the far right side of the room.

Max's mother was sitting on the table, probably waiting for them. Max herself wasn't around, which didn't surprise the blue haired girl at all. She was probably changing or still drying herself.

Not really knowing what to do, Chloe simply stayed in the doorframe. Ryan, on the other hand, sat next to his wife at the table. While it seemed like a normal thing to do, the blue haired girl wasn't sure how to interpret that. Was he going to be on Vanessa's side after all? Speaking of the devil, the blonde woman was constantly glaring at her.

_Don't like what you see, huh? Bite me, bitch._

About half a minute, which felt like an eternity, went by without anyone saying a single word or making a sound. The silence was hard to bear, as the whole mood was getting thicker by the second.

She felt so vulnerable standing there being looked at like something hideous. So, with a long-drawn-out "So?" she asked the two adults on the other end of the room everything at once.

Vanessa didn't respond immediately, and Chloe almost expected to receive no answer at all, as Max's mother then finally spoke up.

"You actually came."

 _Didn't she expect me to?_  The blue haired girl asked herself, frowning once more.

"But that won't be enough to convince me."

Vanessa's voice was careful but sharp, making it obvious that she still detested the idea of her and Max being an item.

"I didn't expect otherwise." The punk shrugged. "But you know me, always have been hardheaded."

"I don't know you."

"So, that's what this is about?"

Vanessa and Chloe both looked in the direction the answer came from. Max was standing on the stairs and had obviously heard the short conversation.

"Is that really what is bothering you, mom? You have known Chloe since birth, don't lie to our faces."

The blonde woman narrowed her eyes, glaring at the floor, but didn't answer. For a moment the blue haired girl feared that the quiet from before would return, but it seemed like her girlfriend didn't want to let that one go.

"Tell me why you can't be happy that I found someone I love."

"You don't love her."

Max's body language was so obvious that it didn't take her girlfriend more than a second to step in between her and her mother, whispering "Don't do something stupid now, Maximus."

"I wouldn't hit her." Despite her anger, Max was not lying. She wanted to scream into that ignorant face of her mother, but even now she was too nice to willingly hurt someone. She pushed the bigger girl to the side gently, and while pointing at Vanessa she said with an infuriated voice:

" _You_  don't decide that."

As she spat those words out, she saw Ryan sitting behind his wife, shaking his head. The freckled girl could tell that it was not because of what she had said, but because he was witnessing how his beloved family was being torn apart, and he couldn't stop it. Guilt was building up for a moment, but then she looked at her mother again.

Vanessa had stayed cool through this whole ordeal, not even bothering to check how her husband was feeling through this whole ordeal. She raised her hands in a surrendering manner.

"You're right. I don't." Max's mother then stood up, moving towards the window, and as she looking at the stormy weather outside, her facial expression changed from a cold one to a soft one. Were those tears in her eyes?

"But I do know you, Maxine. You always missed your best friend. Do you remember? The moment we told you that we would move to Seattle you decided to ignore us. I hadn't seen you so angry since I gave birth to you, and that despite knowing that it wasn't our decision but Ryan's job that forced us into a new home. And when we first came here you cried daily. Knowing that the two of us are as innocent as you are in that regard, you shut everything out. You rather stayed inside, or took photos by yourself. You didn't bother to have a social life, because you missed her."

"I remember how shitty it was, thanks." Max interrupted her mother, facing the bigger girl next to her instead of Vanessa. Taking a second look, the freckled girl could see that Chloe was not getting angry. Despite everything that was happening, the tall girl's expression was one of frustration. Did she already knew where her girlfriend's mother was heading with this? But the punk didn't dare to open her mouth, knowing that it would only make things worse at the moment. So, the couple let Vanessa continue.

"You had so many emotions that you forced into the back of your mind… And now that you and her reunited all of that is coming back into the daylight." She took one last glaze out of the window, before turning around to her daughter with a sigh of exhaustion.

"You  _don't_ love her. You only love the idea of her being back in your life."

Silence followed.

Max needed to take a step back, not knowing what to say. She could hear her father saying: "I can't believe this…" Ryan understood just as well as his daughter that Vanessa had crafted herself her own twisted theory in which her little cute Maxine was and would always be innocent. If she couldn't blame Chloe then she simply needed to find something else, because her daughter would never be at fault. No. Never.

The brunette stood there, dumbfounded by that revelation. She could feel the warmth of tears on her cheeks. God, how much had she cried the last couple of weeks…

"Mom I…" At a loss for words, she turned to face the girl right next to her, looking her girlfriend straight into the face. This beautiful dork that had endured so much pain, stood through so much hardship and was yet standing here, next to Max. But in Chloe's eyes was no anger, not anymore at least.

In this ocean of blue eyes, only one sentence was washed onto the shore.

" _All we have to do is to prove that our love is hella real that isn't too hard, is it?"_

Max wanted to kiss her girlfriend. Right here and now, proving to the rest of the goddamn world that she loved this girl.

So, what _'s holding you back?_

A voice in the back of her mind asked the simple question.

_Nothing._

And so she kissed Chloe. Full assault.

The punk was taken aback by that brash move at first, but it took mere seconds before she too simply ignored the other two people in the room.

The emotions shooting through each of them was more than enough proof that this was real.

Max's mother, on the other hand, was shaking her head, lips pushed together and eyes narrowed. She was pissed, to be frank.

"You are not like that Maxine! You will only get hurt from this… thing you two have going right now."

The kiss had calmed the freckled girl down immensely. Chloe's presence had that effect on her. She turned towards her mother, standing tall and with a voice, not distant but strong and firm she explained: "Mam, I'm a lesbian."

"You're not! I know how those people live their lives! I've seen them in the streets at night. All night in clubs, doing drugs and sleeping with someone they don't know. My daughter is not a slut."

As soon as the words were out, the blonde woman herself was shocked by them. "I-I meant... the people in those nightclubs, not you!"

But she didn't get an answer from either of the girls. While Max had teary eyes, her whole face was creased through her rage.

Chloe on the other hand simply looked at that pitiful woman, brows furrowed together. She shook her head at first, but then grabbed the smaller girl next to her by the waist, pulling her in for a hug. While the brunette burrowed her face in the familiar warmth, the punk didn't stop looking at Vanessa. Even though they probably hated each other by now, Vanessa could read exactly what the blue haired girl was trying to say with that expression of hers.

_Why did you hurt the person we both love?_

"You've gone too far, darling." Ryan finally said, resting his big hand on his wife's shoulder.

"I… I…so sorry…"

"I know. Chloe, you mind taking Max upstairs? I don't think that'll get us anywhere tonight."

The punk looked at the tall man for a moment, not sure of she should ask if he was okay. She knew how it felt like to have a torn family, she had been the reason for that for a long time after all. But she didn't. Instead, she simply nodded towards him.

"And Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry."

He waited one more moment, looking at his daughter with a longing to hug her. Then, he pulled his wife out of the room.


	53. New old Faces

"She's such a… Ngah!" Max yelled punching the pillow. "Just how… How can she think of you like that?" She asked her girlfriend, who was sitting next to her on the bed.

"To be fair, my punkiness makes it fairly easy to judge me."

"Chloe… You're wonderful and one of the kindest souls I know." The freckled girl mumbled, pulling her knees in front of her face.

"If you had met me half a year ago, maybe you would think otherwise." The blue haired girl shrugged, her thoughts left the now for a moment, before she could a hand squeeze her thigh.

"You are, now."

Not used to getting compliments with such a determined voice from Max, the punk blushed and shrugged once more. She then looked up, towards the only window in Max's old room. It was still storming outside, and by now the freckled girl had noticed it as well and even still after Chloe tried to calm her, she was shaking.

_When is this fucking storm-phobia going away… This is so stupid…_

It wasn't that easy, she knew that of course. But what could've been easy, is accepting that your daughter is in love with someone, despite what you're thinking.

"She just doesn't understand anything." The brunette grumbled to herself, eyes red from all the tears. A few seconds of silence went by before the part that was still in love her mother argued: "How can she though?..."

On that Chloe's eyes wandered back to the girl hiding behind a giant pillow, a hint of surprise in her expression. "You're right. She can't. Not without us telling her everything, I guess."

"No."

"I'm not saying we should. Even if she would believe this weird tale of time travel, crime, and love, it wouldn't end well for us, probably."

"Yeah well... But she doesn't need to know all of that to accept that I'm happy with you."

On that the blue haired girl let a sigh escape her mouth. It was frustrating that she didn't know any other way to caress her girlfriend than to pull her in for another hug after gently taking the pillow out of her hand. After a few quiet moments, Chloe heard Max's low voice mumbling: "I wish I could change it…"

The punk wasn't sure if that was how her girlfriend had meant it, but despite that, she said with a very careful undertone in her voice: "We shouldn't...  _You_  shouldn't use it."

"B-But maybe I could change her attitude towards you."

"You can rewind the words, but not the pain they have created, Max."

"You don't think I know that?" The freckled girl retorted a little sharper than she had intended. She immediately apologized for that. It was hard to accept that even with her godlike power she wouldn't be able to change anything.

"Only if everything goes to shit. That was our one rule, right?" The smaller girl said more to herself than her girlfriend.

"Yeah. At least as long as we don't know what the fuck those powers actually are. But you know what?" Chloe cupped the freckled face and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. "I still think there's a chance."

"For what?"

"She thinks I'm pretty much a drug addict criminal, so maybe someday she will see that… I'm not like that anymore."

Max closed her eyes, brows furrowed together, and let herself fall back onto the mattress.

_The simple truth is that I want mom to accept me. I don't hate her, even after she said something horrible to me and Che I don't. I would probably forgive her if she came in right now and apologized… And knowing that is so infuriating._

She opened her eyes again when there was movement on the mattress. Chloe was not sitting beside her anymore, but instead, she was standing next to the window, looking into the sky. And for a moment the brown haired girl could see that her girlfriend wasn't here anymore. The punk took a moment, just one, before turning around again.

"It's clearing up, but I still don't feel like taking a walk after yesterday." The punk said.

"... Understandable." Since earlier today, Max had noticed that her girlfriend wasn't fully there at times. She didn't know what Chloe was thinking about, as she hadn't been there when Ryan had reminded her girlfriend of her deceased father.

 _I and dad are alike? He always tried to fight for my happiness, wearing this hella bright smile while doing so. I'm nothing like that_.

Chloe thought, still looking out of the window.

"You alright, Che?"

As the blue haired girl turned around she saw that Max was looking at her, eyes full of worry. And it was just then that Chloe understood something.

Williams's smile wasn't  _for_  but  _because_ of her.

 _That selfish prick!_ She thought without ill intent in it.

Looking at the girl next to the window, Max was only getting more confused. "What? Why are you smiling like a dork?"

"No reason."

"Tell me already, Chlo!"

"Uh-oh **.** Max's noisy side has awakened once more. God help us all."

"Hmpf!" The freckled girl grunted, trying to get some use out of her acting skills. Not that it mattered. Chloe, in a twisted way, thought that pouty Max was adorable as well.

"It was really just something hella sappy, so for both our sake I shouldn't." The punk shrugged, still that playful grin over her lips.

"You're the only person that would think about something sappy in such a situation, really." The smaller girl sighed, but Chloe saw the small smile forming on her face.

On that, the blue haired girl simply shrugged. "I'm mad in love."

"... Dork… Anyway, what are we gonna do now?" Max asked, soberer now.

"We should probably stay here today. Not like either of us feels like visiting the big city at the moment, right?" Chloe said, averting her gaze once more.

"I guess-"

_Tac_

The two girls were interrupted by something hitting the window.

_Tac_

They looked at each other, confirming that the other had heard it as well. Max then headed for the window, opening it and seeing two faces standing on the street she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Is your phone dead or have you gone deaf, Max?"

"Kristen?!"

"Who else do you expect?"

The freckled girl stared at Kristen and her boyfriend Fernando for a good minute, not understanding what had brought them here before she turned around again. There could've been only one person who told them to come.

"How… How did you…"

"Well, you didn't pay much attention to your smartphone, since yesterdays… talk." Chloe explained, raising her shoulders. "Figured you could see some friendly faces."

"But-"

She could hear Kristen yell from the street again. "You letting us wait here, till we're old Caulfield?"

"I told them that it was me when I wrote over your phone, but I didn't tell them about  _us_."

"Why not?" Max asked, frowning. For a moment she feared that Chloe was ashamed or even worse, maybe her mother's words had really torn the two of them apart.

 _Do I really think that, though? I trust Chloe more than anyone else on this planet, so fuck those doubts._ And just seconds later her inner monologue was confirmed by the blue haired girl.

"I figured that it wasn't my place. If you feel comfortable with them we can do it together now."

"We… We shouldn't let them wait any longer. Let's go." Max dodged the topic on purpose, knowing that Chloe would get the hint. She believed that her friends would be okay with it, she really did. But she had trusted her mother too before.

But before she could gather her thoughts, they were already standing downstairs, facing her two friends.

The energetic Kristen, brown shoulder long hair with bangs close to her eyes. She wore a green jacket with yellow lines forming a muster and normal jeans. Fists on her hips, she had a cocky smile on her face.

Fernando, towering over his girlfriend, seemed way calmer than his girlfriend. It was more of a grin on his face. He wore a brown trench coat, his dark brown hair was ruffled, but his eyes were full of joy as he saw Max again.

"Max is back!" Kristen yelled, hands in the air, before crashing into her to give her a big hug. "It's so good to see you, and oh my god your pink hair streak looks amazing!"

After the freckled girl was finally released from the death grip, she turned to the relatively tall boy next to her, who had a smile on his face as well. "Yo." He greeted her, before opening his arms to invite her for a hug as well.

While Max and Fernando were greeting each other, the punk noticed she hadn't been the only one checking out the new faces. Kristen dashed around her boyfriend, examining Chloe from head to toe.

"So you're Chloe?"

"Uhm, I guess?"

"I don't need to ask who gave her the idea to color her hair, I assume?" Chloe simply nodded on that, a proud feeling swelling up in her chest. "It's sad though, Max always romanticized your blond hair, and yet here you are."

The blue haired girl quirked one of her eyebrows up while putting her smuggest smile on. "Well, what can I say? The caterpillar evolved into a beautiful butterfly over the last few years. But she really did talk a lot about me? That surprises me." In fact, it didn't, but Chloe still wanted to hear it.

"Oh yes, she always talked about you."

"I already like this one, Max. You know what Kristen?"

"What?" Max's friend asked, turning her head to the side, curious at what Chloe would ask.

"Day is young, what do you say if we trade some max embarrassing Max moments?"

"Stop it already you two! You just met and there's already a complot being made against me?" The freckled girl interrupted them as she turned around. "I wanted to show Chloe our cafe. You two wanna join in?"

"That's why we are here, duh." Kristen retorted.

 _I really missed them, but I'm also happy to get away from this shit-show for a few hours. Che really is the best for inviting them._ Max thought while the for of them finally walked out of the door onto the street.

…

"This is pretty neat. I honest to dog expected your favorite place to simply be a Starbucks. Would fit your whole hipsterness." The punk confessed.

"Uh-huh. Because I'm the one always wearing the signature hipster beanie, and I mean always." Her girlfriend retorted.

"You secretly love wanna wear it too, don't lie to yourself." Chloe retorted.

She then noticed that Fernando was looking at her from the corner of her eye. "Something bothering you?"

"You okay, Max?" Both Max and Chloe were surprised by that. They had both tried to look and act as normal as possible, not because they wanted to lie to Fernando and his girlfriend in particular, but just to get some sort of rest for once. But it seemed like they failed. "You look tired… And sad." He explained with his deep slow voice.

"Well…"

Kristen rose from her chair. "Oh no, you have a bad time in the countryside? And I didn't even notice?"

"Uhm…"

"Some bully troubling you?" Kirsten frowned.

"..." The freckled girl could only shake her head. A bully was by now the least of her worries.

"Or is it maybe unrequited love? Who in the right mind could refuse your sweetness? He's not worth it, trust me!" Kristen said.

"That's not true!" Max said a tad too sharp, regretting it instantly.

Obviously, her friends caught on to that. "So someone really broke your heart… Wanna talk about it?" Fernando asked.

And for a brief moment, later she wouldn't be able to explain from where it had come, Max felt something weird, something strange. She felt courage. "You know what? Sure. There is someone very special in that town. Someone I love with all my heart."

"But?..." Fernando asked, expecting this to be the root of her sadness.

"My mom with a stick way too deep in her butt doesn't want to see that I love Chloe."

First, her two friends simply blinked, not really getting what Max was talking about. Then, Fernando's facial expression changed as his eyebrows slowly rose up, his eyes growing bigger. "Oh."

His girlfriend was sharing the same reaction at first, but then her brows furrowed together instead. "So… You're telling me that all those times I tried to find you a cute boyfriend was in truth you making fun of me?"

"N-No! What the hell, of course not. I didn't know back then, I swear to dog." The freckled girl said quickly, surprised by that accusation.

"Good. Because not telling your friends something this important would've hurt otherwise."

"You would've found out eventually. Couldn't have hidden it, anyway."

"True enough," Kristen said, sticking her chest out proudly while a smile formed on her face. "Now that I think about, didn't you actually asked me once if Max was gay, sweetie?"

The big boy simply shrugged. "Just a hunch."

"You've got scary insight, dude." Chloe noted.

While she asked her boyfriend, the little time traveler felt how that surge of courage was leaving her. "So you're… okay with it?" She asked the two of them, her voice alarmed the blue haired girl as it had once again a vulnerable undertone.

"Are you Fernando?" Kristen asked, raising her shoulders up and down.

"'Course."

"I don't really give a damn either. You're Max."

"T-Thanks you two… You know… That… That was just what I needed to hear right now." Tears followed after her voice broke down. She started to sob a little as she did for half the day, and the two familiar arms of her girlfriend slung around for the hundredth time today.


	54. Only silence

After Chloe explained the whole mess with Vanessa Caulfield to Kristen and Fernando, Max's friends from Seattle, the freckled girl had been able to calm down. By now the four of them were sitting in a cafe in downtown and all three of them were giving their best to distract Max, even if just for a few hours.

"It's quite nice here."

"Sounds like you expected my favorite cafe to be uncomfortable."

"That accusation came out of the blue..." Chloe fake pouted.

Her girlfriend looked at her expecting something to follow up after that. "You didn't say that just for the pun did you?"

"Well, most Starbucks are expensive and overrun with better-than-you-hipsters."

"In other words, you only said it for the pun." The freckled girl said while rolling her eyes. Thanks, to that she saw how her two Seatle friends were watching them amused.

Then, Kristen spoke up. "Max, is she comparing 'Klee's little tomorrow' to a Starbucks?" She said while puffing her cheeks in fake offense. Her tall boyfriend, sitting in the armchair next to her, shook his head while letting a knowing sigh escape. No one badmouthed Kristen's favorite cafe.

The punk rose her hands, surrendering to the duo. "Hey, to my defense I've never actually been in Seattle before. I don't know the big town standards." She tried to reason. "But seriously, those chairs are comfy as fuck, and this is some good stuff too." She said, raising her cup.

"Yep, best in town as far as we know. But you've seen the prices ain't the cheapest coffee either."

"So, instead of being a hipster you guys show your individuality through money? Nice."

On that Kristen snorted. "Sure. The only one here with money on this table is Fernando." she shrugged, before turning towards her boyfriend. "Mom always said I should find someone that can afford a big house and a nice car." She added a wink at the end, making sure Chloe wouldn't misunderstand.

Fernando simply rolled with his eyes. "I owe your mother for leading you to me."

The punk couldn't help but notice that Kristen had been caught totally off guard by that. "Well, played big boy."

The evening went on with them getting to know each other while trying to triumph over the other with the most embarrassing story about Maxine. Obviously, she wasn't that eager to see such a Competition becoming a thing, but despite that, she was enjoying herself. Even if it was just for a few hours, getting her mind off from all her problems was a nice change for once. But of course, that peace didn't last forever.

"So, Max… You want us to speak some sense into her?" Kristen asked, her voice a lot more careful and quiet.

Being caught off guard by that question, the freckled girl tilted her head in confusion. Then, with a loud huff, she let herself fall back into the chair. "No… I've got one person dear to me that she hates already. One is two too much."

"You sound like you don't really hate her." Fernando noticed.

"Really?... I…" Max rubbed her nose bridge, in hope of getting rid of a coming headache. "I am angry at her but… It's complicated."

"I can only imagine."

Chloe felt like she needed to clarify something, she hadn't before. She rubbed her girlfriend's shoulder, looking her into the eyes. "I still don't want you to hate your mother. If she doesn't like me, hey that's just one more person on the long list, but maybe you should try to talk to her one last time before we leave tomorrow morning."

"You're probably right... "

Suddenly Kristen rose up from her chair. "What are you doing here then? Get your asses up!"

"Can't we at least-"

"Nope! I and Fernando need to be home for dinner with my parents in about half an hour anyways." Kristen obviously lied. "So, just go already."

"Ugh… I don't want to though."

"That's life," Kristen said while grabbing Fernando's arm and pulling him up. "C'mon already big boy."

"Was nice meeting you Chloe." He said waving at the two girls. "Don't forget to write us, Max." He added, before obeying his pushing girlfriend. And thus like that the partner in time was left alone, sitting in the nice little cafe wondering what to do next.

"That was quick."

"You get used to it." The freckled girl shrugged.

"We gonna head back as well?"

Max could instantly feel how her inside was cramping together. Had she really feared that her girlfriend would ask the inevitable so much? "...Chlo?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"If things don't work out between me and my mom, can we leave today? I really don't want to stay longer than we need. I'll even pay for the motel."

The punk sighed on that. She wanted to say that running wouldn't fix anything that it would maybe even make things harder for Max, but what would it even bring to say those things out loud?

 _As if she doesn't know all of that already. But who could blame her for asking this? Can't even count how many times I ran away as soon as either Joyce or David were angry at me_.

"Sure."

…

They knew it wouldn't be pretty. They knew it would hurt. They were both scared.

Standing before entrance door, Max didn't want to open it, holding the keys in front of her as if she were frozen in place.

They had to.

Did they?

But then it was already too late. The keys turned around in the lock and the door swung open. Inside the house was a dreading silence. Not a sound came from were the freckled girl used to live.

She turned her head around one last time, making sure that Chloe was still behind her. The punk, folds of worry all over her forehead, took a deep breath. "That's it?"

"... I guess."

And as soon as they went but a few feet inside the house they had a pretty good guess at what was about to happen.

Right before them was Max's father, already sitting in the living room. As they stepped into the room, Ryan's face lit up for just a moment, as if he had forgotten all the pain threatening to destroy his family. Then, it fell, folding itself.

The freckled girl could only watch in shook as she saw how his father was aging right before her eyes.

With a rough undertone in his voice, he greeted the two girls with a shallow "Hey…"

While Chloe gave a silent nod in return, as she didn't know how to address her girlfriend's father after having caused much pain. Max didn't waste a second after seeing her father suffering like that and sat down next to him. "Hi, dad. You holding up okay?" She still asked, even though she knew that he wasn't.

"I cannot decide, Max…"

The freckled girl needed to swallow. Hearing this felt just as if someone had kicked her in the stomach. "Y-You don't… I never…"

"I know your mother is being unfair… I know…"

"I would never expect you to divorce her, Dad." She finally found her voice again, even if it was hoarse and weak. "Fucking hell… Even I can't bring it over myself to… to hate her."

Ryan sniffed loudly, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, not caring that it may leave stains. "Will you try to talk to her again?" He asked, more out of curiosity, even if somewhere deep down it was a request as well.

His daughter shrugged, eyes falling on the ground. "Is she home?"

"In our bedroom. Hasn't left it since yesterday." It was at that moment that the punk noticed the bed sheet on the sofa. It didn't take much to guess that it was Ryan's.

"Okay…" Max said more to herself. "Okay… Chlo you wait here this time, please."

"You kidding? Your mess is mine."

"I know. But do I really have to remember you that you're not really her favorite person on this planet?"

"... Fucking bullshit…" The blue haired girl cursed under her breath.

"You nailed it," Ryan grumbled.

"Be right back." Max said before going up the stairs, leaving her girlfriend and her father alone.

Ryan sunk back in the chair he was sitting in, face falling into his hands. Chloe, on the other hand, stayed on the other side of the room, as if she were trying to take roots. Seeing the man that had been like a second father to her, back when they were children, in so much pain through her existence, hurt. But right now she couldn't focus on him. She was too worried about Max.

"So…" Ryan said before he was forced to sniff, as snot ran down his nose.

"Need a hanky?" The blue haired girl made a few steps towards the table, the handkerchief in her hand.

"T-Thanks." He took what was offered, cleaned himself up and then pointed towards the chair, Chloe was standing next to. "Wanna sit down while we wait?"

She didn't want to sit down, but just then realized how shaky her legs really were. She pulled the chair out and sat down, waiting for the older man on the other side to say something while playing with a zipper on her jacket.

"So, you think the two will come to terms up there?" A certain rough and deep undertone gave his opinion on that matter away.

"They always could be stubborn…"

"One reason why I love them… Both of them…" Was there accusation hidden behind his sadness?

Chloe felt like she needed to say something, anything to make him feel better. "Ryan listen… Neither I nor Max expected this."

"I know."

"And I feel horrible for all of this."

"I know."

"But I won't back down either. When I said that I love Max, I meant it."

"... I know. I'm glad you do." He said, not an ounce of regret in his voice. He was happy that his daughter had found such a strong bond. This was why he was so ashamed of himself because some small part secretly had hoped that Chloe would back down. But seeing the blue haired girl emitting with resolve had destroyed that bittersweet thought.

"I can only speak on my behalf for what I'm about to say Chloe, but I've always given my very best trying to protect my child from any pain. If that means I have to protect the bond between the two of you, then I don't give a fuck about your gender, ethnic, belief, or any of that other bullshit. You get what I'm saying?"

She did. The punk understood perfectly, after all, she found herself stuck in a very similar position as the man on the other side of the table. Just like him, she had hoped to protect her little girlfriend… And yet here both of them were sitting on a table, not being able to do anything. Not even the anger that had soothed her for so long, was present. Only silence.

…

She heard the expected knocking on the door but still winced as the sound went through her bones.

Who would it be? Her daughter Maxine? Her husband Ryan? Or… Chloe.

Then, the door opened. It was indeed her beloved Maxine. Was she here to apologize? Then, Vanessa saw her daughter's face and immediately knew that she wasn't here for that.

"Hello, Maxine." The elderly woman said, sitting herself up straight in the chair next to the big bed.

"... Hey." The freckled girl retorted, and both of them were surprised how tame it was. "We need to talk, mom."

"Indeed, although I don't know where to start." She said it not to mock anyone, but because she truly didn't know.

The freckled girl took a deep breath before answering Vanessa. "I won't break up with Chloe Price. I love her."

"What I'm about to say will probably upset you, but are you sure this isn't just-"

"It's not. It's not a fucking phase I'm in."

For a brief moment, Vanessa felt the urge to correct her daughter's language but stopped herself from doing that. "Everything is new in Arcadia, new people, new teachers, a new home, but then she comes in. This relict from before. An anchor so to say."

Max didn't even try to hide her anger anymore. "And what about photography, huh?!"

"What about it?"

"You didn't want to buy me a camera back when I was a child, saying that it was just a phase and that in a few weeks I would want something else instead! I still shoot photos! I still want to be a photographer someday! And I will still love Chloe then!"

"That… Y-You can't compare that with-"

"Why are you so stubborn, mom?"

"I'm not stubborn! Watch what you say, young lady!"

Not impressed by that intimidation, Max's stayed unfazed. "So that's it? You gonna yell at me and that's how we part ways?"

The freckled girl had never seen her mother switch from anger to being scared. "Y-You can't just leave me. I'm… I'm your mother. We're family."

"Oh god, I didn't mean it like that at all, mom. We just have to drive back tomorrow morning."

"...Oh."

"But it's good that you still think like that about family."

"Of course I do. You're my little Maxine and-."

She interrupted her mother before the blonde woman could go on with her pretty little words. Max, voice being a twisted mix of toxicity and determination, then calmly explained:

"You should get used to calling Chloe, family. I'll marry that girl someday."

For a long moment, there was only silence between the two Caulfields. Vanessa was still in the chair, staring at her daughter, eyes narrowed while biting her lips in anger. Her daughter, on the other hand, was still standing in the door, arms crossed, showing an expression of smug and rage.

"I've always let you do what I want. I can just warn you before doing a mistake if you still want to do it then go for it."

"You never forbid something, but just this one time I wanted your support... Just this once. Not a fucking critic or warning…"

Another moment of silence. Then, her mother grumbled something that Max didn't understand. "That's my job…",

"Being unfair?!"

"It might seem like I am to you, but I am like that for you."

"Hurting me, Chloe, and even Dad just because you love us?! Tell yourself how righteous you are, but you know what? I don't fucking care anymore."

And with that, the freckled girl turned around and marched down the corridor. Each step away left another painful sting in her chest. Yet, she didn't stop.

...

The freckled girl came down the stairs, no tear on her face, but instead, she was looking determined. Before she could even see either Ryan or Chloe, both of them already stood up, coming towards her.

"How did it go?" One of the two asked.

Max let a sigh escape her mouth, as she went through her hair with one hand. "Dad, I love you. You know that, right?"

"Oh, course hon." He retorted, voice low and weak. He was fearing for the worst.

She simply nodded, while nibbling on her lips. "I love you too. And I even love mom. Tell her that if she ever changes her mind she can call me, okay?"

It took a few moments before everything his daughter said could sink in. Chloe even watched how his facial expression changed from sadness to one of horror and then again to a hopeful one again, eyes still wet though. "Ha, looks like you've really grown up... " He finally said, wiping his eyes. "I'll make her call somehow."

"No need to stress yourself. I want it to come from her, really."

"Okay… That means you two are going now?"

On that, Max looked up to her girlfriend, who had stayed silent for the longest time. "Are we?"

While this outcome still left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth, Chloe could understand why Ryan wasn't giving up. Max was giving her stuck up mother one more chance.

"Sure."


	55. The deciding factor

The sun was already setting when they arrived in their hometown. Although the ride back home was rather long, neither of them spoke much, to the point that it was almost making it uncomfortable. But despite fearing for it, Max didn't know that Chloe wasn't feeling angry. Maybe the punk was a bit disappointed on how it all went, but there was no anger in her system at all. In fact, the blue haired girl was even feeling proud that her girlfriend had actually shown her true greatness. Her big heart.

And this was probably one of two reasons for why the blue-haired girl had been so quiet. The other one wasn't as comforting as the fact that Maxine was being awesome yet again in Chloe' opinion.

It was like a sneaky mosquito keeping you up at night, or like an itch you just can't reach…

_My father…_

Since Ryan Caulfield had told her that she looks just like her father, many memories started bubbling up again. Memories she had locked away for a long time. Memories that hurt.

_But do I really? W-Why do I even care? I'm his daughter, no shit I look like him… But how does he even look? When was the last time I really looked at a picture of him?..._

_When was the last time I visited his grave?_

"Chloe you just missed a turn!"

"Oh shit! That's just amazeballs…" Chloe yelled, punching the wheel in rage.

Max jumped at the sudden act of violence, and for the first time since they started driving today her eyes fell onto her girlfriend's face. The blue-haired girl was angry at first glance. No… That wasn't the gist of it. But something was definitely wrong.

"Che, you okay over there?"

A loud sigh went through the inside of the car. Afterwards, there was a pause, long enough for Max to think that she wouldn't get a proper answer, but then the punk said: "No. Not okay. Not at all."

"Oh… Listen I'm sorry for h-how it went. I tried. I r-really did." Max stuttered as a sudden wave of fresh panic flooded her system.

Hearing the tremble in the smaller girl's voice, Chloe turned around to face her for a brief moment. Eyes narrowed but a gentle faint smile on her lips she reconfirmed what she had though earlier. "Balls, that sounded like I was angry at you? Dude, you gave your mother a second chance! You're a-fucking-mazing, and if your mom doesn't take it, then that's her own damn fault. You've got nothing to apologize, for ya hear me babe?" Then, her eyes darted back on the road.

"... I love you, Chloe." The eye roll and faked groan didn't hide the red in the punks' cheeks.

"Love ya too."

This time the silence that fell over the two of them wasn't so bad, despite Chloe's mind wandering off again here and there. She simply couldn't remember the last time she really visited her father's grave out of her own free will and the resulting guilt was tightening her stomach area more and more.

But more than anything else there was a comforting feeling of proudness.

_She did what would take me years to do, in a handful days. She forgave. You really are amazing, Max. Amazmax? A-Max?_

" _A-Max." Chloe_  grumbled to herself while finally taking the right turn.

"Hm?"

"Nothing, just thinking."

"About a Max?"

"Duh, not hard to guess that I think about you. Always do."

"Ha, smooth safe."

"That's why they call me the blue snake."

"Didn't  _they_ call you blue storm or something?"

"One of many names  _they_  gave me in prison."

The freckled girl couldn't stop herself from snorting on that. Hearing this, a wave of relief hit the blue girl right in the chest.

"Don't ever forget it again, Amaze-Max."

"All your dorky nicknames?"

"To laugh." The bigger girl clarified, with a sober voice, just as they parked the rusty truck, next to the Price's Household.

...

Max immediately felt a wave of welcoming warmness as Joyce hugged both of them.

_Why does this feel more like home than my actual home?_

But as her eyes met Chloe's she knew why. Home is where your loved once are.

Joyce grumbled, "It was that bad, huh…" Not needing to ask how it went, as she could see that both girls were tired. Tired, not just from the long way home but also emotionally.

She decided that it would be for the best to let the two girls sleep for now. They would need all the energy they could get, just to function for the next few days.

_Poor Max…_

…

School sucked. She was happy that she had just managed to survive Science just when Max had finally managed to catch up with all her friends, her mother had decided to fuck things up again.

When would her mother call, if she ever did. What about Christmas? She would probably need to stay with Chloe, Joyce, and David, not that she minded.

 _Ugh! Shut up head! The_  freckled girl went through her pink strand, letting a deep sigh escape. The then rested her forehead against the cold metal of her locker.  _Just be quiet..._

The hand touching her back nearly made her jump. She nearly tripped as she spun around.

"Kate! Holy shit, don't ever do that to me again."

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to… You doing alright, Max?"

Averting her gaze, the freckled girl gave a nod as a weak answer.

"What happened? You can talk to me, you know that, right?"

Kate could see that Maxine had something going through her head, it was as plain as day after all, and Max herself knew that she needed to talk to someone she could trust. Someone else than Chloe. Her girlfriend was too close to everything.

But the freckled girl also knew that she wasn't able to  _really_ talk with her good friend. She didn't dare to reveal her biggest secret.

The two of them headed towards Kate's room after grabbing something to munch on. Not that Max was feeling hungry at all but her religious friend wouldn't let that go by. Kate cared. She really did, and Max was happy to call her a close friend by now.

Sitting down on the bed, the brunette started explaining the whole ordeal with her mother. At first, it was hard, every word was like a stone that she pulled out of her throat using her own two hands, but after a while, she couldn't stop herself from telling Kate more and more.

With a sniff that hopefully held back the tears, Max finished her story. "It's just so unfair… I'm basically sitting her now, waiting, and hoping that she will one day accept me as I am now."

"You know… I kind of get where you're coming from."

"You do?" She asked, one eyebrow quirking up.

"Well, not that I'm… You know… Anyways, what I wanted to say was that I've had my fair share of acceptance problems. Hell, I want to draw illustrations when I'm older. Do you think my parents were delighted when I told them?"

"Kate that's not really the same-"

"But it is." The christian girl interrupted Max, shrugging. "It's always simply about accepting yourself. Your way of living. Being an Illustrator, being homosexual, being whatever is just a part of life. Your life, Max. If you want to be anything, the only thing you need to do is to accept yourself as you want to be. No human has enough power to take the power of deciding from you. After all, even shy old me is now in a school known for its art classes."

The freckled girl was baffled by this. "That's… So, you're saying I should just ignore my mom?"

"Of course not. You love your mother like you should, but you don't need her approval to live the way you want to. First, you do what you want to do, the rest will fall into place anyways."

"Kate, I know what you're trying to say but isn't your choice to become an artist much easier to accept than me being in love with a girl? I mean, I probably won't' change. I won't wake up one day and like boys again. I didn't even really decide that I like girls. I just do."

Kate took her argument in and thought for a moment, hand on her chin. "Did you decide that you want to be a photographer?"

"Well, yes… Right?"

"I don't know, Max. Maybe it's God's plan after all." Kate shrugged. "We just like to do what we like to do, right? We just have to deal with how we are."

"You make it sound so simple…"

On that Kate rose her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, did that sound arrogant of me? I really don't, I mean, I can't even really understand how you feel even if you-"

"Geez, it's quite alright." Max stopped her friends rambling.

_I never decided to be, I just was…Gay… Weird… Time Traveler…_

_At the end, despite my many mistakes, I had one thing I wanted to do, didn't I? And I managed to safe her._

"... Thanks, Kate."

"S-Sure! And I honestly do not think your mom will stay like that forever. Just give her time to… accept it."

 _It really shouldn't be that hard for her though._ Was what Max thought at that time.  _But maybe she has a point._

…

But she didn't call.

By now, it was the third day since they had come back to Arcadia and there was still no word from Seattle. While she was waiting for her mother, Chloe Price just as lost in her own problem. The big long forgotten bottle with her father's name on it had been opened again.

School had already wrapped up, and Chloe worked the morning shift today, so both of them had free for the evening. This meant what it always did. The couple was chilling somewhere together. This time it turned out to be Max's dorm room. It had been the punk's idea to stay here for a reason. While she had yet to talk with the smaller girl about it, she didn't feel comfortable in the Price's house, right now. Everything reminded her of William.

Both girls were laying on the bed, Chloe resting her head on her girlfriend's lap. Despite school being over, the freckled girl had to do some homework, thus she was reading a book about the structure of classic drama, while the punk was keeping herself entertained with her smartphone.

After her conversation with Kate Max had felt better for a bit, but there were still times she simply stared at her phone, expecting her mother to call.

"Why can't I travel into the future…" The brunette grumbled, hating to wait for what was maybe nothing.

Chloe took it as such at first as well. But then… "Wouldn't that be scary as hell?"

The brunette was honestly surprised to hear that. "I expected you to explain how cool it would be that I never had to study ever again, or that I would never be surprised."

The blue haired girl frowned on that. "I like being surprised. If you really think about it, it would actually be scary. You would know your every mistake."

"And it also wouldn't mean that everything would go perfectly. Trust me… I know that." For a moment Max could see a girl in a wheelchair with long blond hair in front of her. She then grabbed her girlfriend's hand, clutching it tightly.

"The dying me?"

"Yes." Her stomach started to cramp, and her body was shaking all over.

In comparison, it was getting better, but it still scared her. That terrifying timeline in which Chloe would die sooner or later because of a car crash was also simply one of Max's decisions. All because she had tried to change how things are.

_Maybe that's the universe trying to teach me the same lection I got from Kate._

While saying the next few words, Max closed the distance between her and the punk and embraced her. "I'm sorry I couldn't save him."

"I-It's okay, really. Nothing has changed for me, aside from the fact that I know that you tried. It's funny actually… Lately, he has been on my mind a lot."

"Isn't that a good thing, though?"

"Is it? The hell if I know." Chloe shrugged. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something relating that."

Max tilted her head to a side, curious about what the question would be. She could see that it was still hard for the taller girl to talk about William. It would probably stay that way, but that was okay.

"It's been literally years since I've last… visited him." Chloe's voice was low, and uncharacteristically vulnerable. Her eyes were focused on the ground between them as she went on. "I thought that maybe… If you stay here anyways…"

"Of course I will go with you." Max retorted, voice soft and soothing. "When?"

The blue haired girl scratched her neck as if she were ashamed of something. "By the end of the month?..." Max wasn't sure if the question was directed at her, or if Chloe asked herself. She was obviously not ready to hop over just, yet and neither was Max.

"Sure. But what about Joyce? Want her to come with us?"

"Na, asking you was terrifying enough."

The freckled girl gave a short cathartic chuckle, before kissing her girlfriend on the forehead. "Proud of you, Chloe Price."

"That I didn't properly visit my dad for the last three years?" The punk wanted to make a joke. It didn't work, yet she needed it to. Otherwise, she would start to cry.

"You know what I meant, you dork." Max rolled her eyes, getting the hint. "It's your decision really."

"That's why it's so fucking scary, isn't it? I know that I don't need to, but I don't want to regret my decision either…"

The freckled girl felt an urge to stop her girlfriend. She knew that Chloe was trying, but thinking like that would be a step back in all of this. So, instead of saying something half-assed, she simply gave the punk a long passionate kiss.

While Chloe was surprised at first, it didn't take much work from Max to make her girlfriend let herself fall into the kiss. Where there once were lips, tongues were already playing with each other. The blue haired girl could feel how a sneaky little hand started massaging the back of her scalp, and let a soft warm moan into the mouth pressed against hers.

Being so close to each other, Max naturally had her eyes closed. When they needed a little break in between making out with each other, they pressed their cheeks against each other, breathing heavily. It was just then that the freckled girl felt water on her face. Not sure if the liquid came from her or Chloe's tears, she decided to pay it no mind. Instead, she took the taller girl's head in both hands, blue meeting blue.

"I can say for sure that I'm very happy about at least one particular decision you made. I think you can guess which one." Max said, a sassy undertone in her voice, winking at the punk.


	56. Photos

There was only one more time stop, before the partner in time would visite William's grave by the end of the month.

The next few days had been chewy at best. Each minute had felt like an hour. While Max was still waiting for any sign of reconciliation from her mother Vanessa, the punk had been doing something odd for a while now. This odd behavior would also be the trigger for the next time stop. But we'll get later to that. It was after all still Thursday.

Right now, Max was sitting in class, eagerly trying to understand how to use  _this_  formula so that would finally make sense…

It was no use.

"Hey, Warren." She whispered to the boy sitting in front of her.

"Hmm?"

"Will you let me copy again?"

"Sure thing." After giving her a grin followed by a nod, he turned around.

The two of them had been… drifting apart for a while now. After all, she had made it pretty clear that he didn't stand a chance, and it had been awkward to talk with each other afterwards. Both of them noticed that their friendship wasn't like before, but neither had tried to do anything about it. But then, he had approached her.

"I'll let you know that I have the mind of a scientist, Max." He said. "A scientist doesn't try to change how the world works. He understands, he accepts, and then he goes on."

What a typical way to say that he just wanted to be friends with her again. And the truth was that she had missed the nerdy boy as well. He was a good guy, she knew that. Even if not in this timeline, he had saved her from Nathan on multiple occasions after all.

"Warren, you know that I was never mad at you, right?"

Hearing that, he started blushing. "And here I wasted hours making this up…"

"It was pretty cute though, don't get me wrong. Mr. Scientist."

"Don't make that a thing. Please."

"I would never do that, who do you think I am? Some kind of devil?"

Now, back in class, Warren was letting Max copy his notices. Not because she had slept, but she found the things he wrote actually more plausible than her own most of the time.

"Just how can you write all of this down while still listening in class?"

"The key is reading about the topics before Miss Grant is teaching them."

"Pff, yeah right, whatever Mr. Scientist."

Warren just rolled his eyes at that. "I'm spilling my secret technics here, be a bit more in awe, please. I'm practically the Mr. Miyagi of learning science."

"Wow. I don't know if I should be worried that I actually understand what you are talking about."

"The first Karate Kid was not cringy enough to call it a guilty pleasure."

"Fair enough."

Thanks to him and Kate school was bearable. She didn't have to think. Thinking was bad. Thinking was dangerous. It would lead her to places she didn't want to go to.  _Times_ she didn't want to go to. Even Victoria and her group were being nice. The whole ordeal with the dark room had, of course, left a big scar not just on Max. There was, after all, a folder with Victoria's name on it as well. She had even tried to talk with the freckled girl about all of it, but Max had quickly blocked any attempt at that.

After school, Chloe was already waiting for her, almost daily. From an outside perspective, their relationship might seem a bit too intense, but the brutal truth was that both girls needed this. Something they could hold on to, something that forced them to live.

Whenever one of them woke up in the morning, thinking too much again, and asking for what purpose they were doing what they were doing. There was one clear and solid answer, that forced them to get out of bed.

This evening was no exception. The punk was leaning against someone's locker, keeping a lookout for her girlfriend. She took a sip of her coffee and enjoyed the warmth spreading through her body as she had just escaped the cold winter air, after a rather long day of work at the cafe. Things were going great there. She was getting along more or less with all of her colleges. Also, none of them had made any complaints when she asked if she could only work the early hours under the week. Like that, she could meet her girlfriend in the evening.

_That was pretty neat of them, not gonna lie._

But instead of spotting the nerd she was waiting for, Chloe saw how a certain blonde girl made her way towards her.

Chloe took another sip to prepare herself, not letting her eyes off the figure approaching. Then, with one eye quirked she asked.

"Can I help you, Victoria?"

"Maybe."

"Uhm…" Now, this was awkward. The two of them were like fire and… well, fire. But the blue-haired girl had promised to make Max's life better. That also meant, no fights with her classmates.

"Shoot."

"I will regret this so hard… Sorry."

"Sorry, you say… For what? Being a bitch? Ripping the missing posters apart? Lying? Threatening me and the people I love?" And after she didn't get a direct answer, she angrily added: "C'mon, Chase. What's up? You thought I would be like, yeah okay we cool now?"

Victoria bit her bottom lip, and Chloe could see that she wanted to lash out just as much, but to the punk's surprise, she didn't.

"I guess all of it." The blonde shrugged, eyes pinned to the ground. "I know my mistakes, but thanks for pointing them out again. How very kind of you."

Now it was Chloe's time to feel bad, as she just realized that this probably was a genuine apology. Or at least the closed thing to it.

_So Max was not exaggerating when she said that Mrs. Chase is really trying. Well, shit._

Though before she got a chance for an apology, Victoria turned around and was already starting to go, but not with Chloe.

"H-Hey, wait up already!" She said, grabbing the blonde's shoulder. "That was unfair from me."

"... It was not nice, but not uncalled for either, so it's fair. Listen you don't need to accept my half-assed apology. I'm doing this more or less to feel better about myself anyway. So, just forget it already, okay?"

Just then, an irritating smile appeared on Chloe's face. "Forget the moment the queen bee of the Vortex Club came down from her throne to talk with a mere peasant? C'mon, you know I would never dare to forget." She finished with a wink, just to make sure that the other girl would understand that this was meant as a joke.

Before she could retort anything, the blonde girl was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey, Chlo there you are with… Victoria? That's weird." Max said, eyes narrowing.

The blue haired girl raised her hands in defense. "Don't worry, I was being tame."

Max furrowed her eyebrows on that. Tilting her head in suspicion towards Victoria, she said. "Sorry, if this one" She pointed at her girlfriend with her thumb, "was behaving like a dork."

"At least now I know where you got that kind of behavior from, Caulfield."

On that, the freckled girl just rolled her blue eyes, before she retorted with a wicked smile on her face. "Fuck you, too, Vicky."

…

Back in Max's room, Chloe felt like talking about what just happened.

"This was weird!"

"Told you she's trying."

"But like… really weird!"

"I can imagine."

"You know what the strangest part of it is? That she is being nice while still being a bitch. Just how does she do that? That might be the first social skill I want to have."

"Wow, so that's what you took from all of this?"

"How can you say that? She's being a bitch but I feel guilty saying that she is one. That's amazing." Chloe snickered while letting herself fall back into the chair she was sitting in. Then, she glanced at her smartphone and seemed surprised. "Oh, fuck me!"

Max raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Okay?"

"I really need to head back home, sorry babe."

"Sure. I probably need the time for studying anyways."

As her girlfriend left the dorm room, Max looked at the closed door for a bit, thinking that this was very untypical for Chloe.

_Usually, she tries to distract me from getting work done. Well, more like I let myself get distracted, but still, that was a pretty abrupt goodbye there. Weird._

…

But this wasn't the end of Chloe's unusual behavior. Sometimes she would need to leave earlier than usual, and on one day she wrote to Max that she couldn't make it.

To put it short, Max, being the angsty girl she was after all that had happened to her, was doing what she was best at. Worrying.

_But I trust Chloe. If she doesn't want to tell me something, then that's okay. She doesn't need to. I won't force her._

_Does that mean she doesn't trust me enough? Or is it something I shouldn't see?..._

"Max? Hey, Max!"

"Wha- Oh, sorry Kate. What were you saying?"

The blonde girl quirked one eye but didn't press. "We gonna eat lunch at our usual spot today?"

"S-Sure."

By now it was Friday again, and there was still nothing from Seattle. Well, her father wrote her here and there, but there was not a single word from Vanessa. One could think that Max had given up by now, and just accepted that there would be bad blood between her mother and her forever, but Max was still hurting… still hoping.

And now that her girlfriend was not around as much as she used to, she felt left alone on top of that.

Thus, she decided that she needed answers. What had Chloe been doing for the past week?

A lot of stupid thoughts had already followed this one. She knew that she was wrong, but still, her head wouldn't keep quiet.

Normally she would keep it that way. Just thinking about possibilities and whys. At least her old self would do that.

But not the Maxine Caulfield as of now. She wanted… no, she needed to know what was keeping her girlfriend away from her. Whatever it was, she would help Chloe with that so that they could fool around all day long, like they used to the last couple of weeks.

**Max: Hey, gonna pick you up from work today okay?**

**Max: We haven't been to yours in ages. I miss Joyce :P**

And before she could think of any reason for not pressing the send button, she had already done so.

Minutes later she received an answer.

**Chloe: You sure you want to skip school just because of that?**

**Max: Naaa, it's fine. I'm pretty good at anthropology.**

She wouldn't give up that easily.

**Chloe: If you say so. Okay then….**

…

Max still didn't feel like entering the cafe itself. It had been a while since she had known that Jefferson had been here, but like a shadow, the thought still lingered in her head. There were things she just couldn't overcome.

But it didn't take long before her girlfriend came out, wearing her usual half smile.

"You waited long?"

"Like 5 minutes."

"Sorry."

"Gee, that wasn't meant to be an accusation."

The blue haired girl scratched the back of her head. "Sure, I know that… You just don't like it here, right?"

"Well… Yes." She confessed. "But you're worth the wait." She added with a wink, hoping to soften up the heavy mood.

"'Course I am. Otherwise, you would have to take the lame ass bus back home. Now you get to ride in the awesome Chloe-mobile."

"As awesome as your run down rust pile can be I guess."

"Hey, be sassy as much as you want, you still love it."

"Didn't say I don't."

"Hmpf. Good."

It didn't take long for the two girls to get home. Max could feel that the closer the two of them got to the Price's household the more nervous she became. Here and there she stole a glaze at Chloe, who was looking… a bit conflicted. Still focused on the street, the punk had her brows furrowed, and was munching on her lips.

But neither of them felt like saying anything.

Why had this become so awkward so fast?

…

"Hey, Max! How is my favorite Blackwell student doing?"

"Pretty good, and on your end, Joyce? Everything okay?"

The elderly woman gave a genuine smile as an answer. "Never been better." For Joyce everything was fine. The family was getting along, and the money was alright. And she had never asked for more than  _fine_.

Just then, while talking to Chloe's mother, Max noticed that said girl was already heading upstairs without a word. "Pretty hasty today, aren't you?"

"While you two talk I'll go clean my room. It's really messy up there."

"As if that ever bothered me. Your room is always messed up." The freckled girl tried to shrug casually.

"I really don't… Just wait a second, okay?" Her girlfriend retorted, and… did she blush just now?

"Yeah, right. Just wait. Please."

But before she even finished her sentence Max had moved past her.

"No."

"Just as stubborn as you are, Chloe." Joyce chuckled while turning back into the kitchen, not that either of them paid her any attention at the moment.

"H-Hey!" The blue haired girl pushed herself between the small girl and the door to her room. "It's really…" Her eyes avoided Max's, and her arms were hidden behind her back so that she could hold the door.

"Really what? Do you not trust me?"

"It's not like that, you know that!"

_But she can't answer me either! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"_

"Then just tell me how it is! I'm not up to this cra-" The brunette stopped mid-sentence, as she noticed something that shouldn't happen.

Chloe had stopped moving. Not out of fear, or anything like that, but simply stopped.

If she could've seen anyone else, the smaller girl would've seen that not just her girlfriend had stopped, but everyone, and everything. Time.

Of course, it didn't take long for her to notice. She just didn't want it to be real. Once again, the dreading silence overcame the world around her.

Was this really so serious?

_Yes, it is! Chloe never holds anything back for me, does she? Why would she do so now? This has to be serious!_

With that the scared girl pushed herself between the punk and the door and opened it, just to see… Chloe's room? Messy, of course, but nothing else was really all that different.

No wait there were some… photos on her bed. Max couldn't resist. Before the angel on her shoulder could start telling her what the right thing to do was, she was already looking at them.

_It's William! That's it? Her big secret?_

"The fuck, Max!? We had rules for your rewind!"

Hearing a loud angry voice behind her, the freckled girl winced.

"I-I swear, I-I…" If Chloe had not embraced her at that moment, she would've cried for sure.

"It's okay. Is everything okay? Fuck, everything is okay, right?" Chloe then just realized how scared Max must've been. And as always fear was infectious.

"Yeah… I just… You didn't want to tell me what was going on and I, well… I thought too much about it, I guess. Again"

On that, Chloe snickered. "The smartass smartassening herself. Is that a smartception'? Or an 'assception'?"

"Shut up."

"Sorry. Couldn't help it." She apologized, though she saw the smile on the smaller girl's face. Then, her face sobered up again. "Telling you the truth would be boring though." She said, as her gaze averted Max's.

"Sometimes boring is good, Che."

Hearing this, the punk groaned. "Maybe you're right… I… For the past few days, I've collected old photos of Dad and cried over them. That's it. I've become hella soft Max. Full on crybaby."

Somehow the small girl felt disappointed.

_That's it?_

The big secret Chloe had kept from her, was because of shame?

"Chlo…"

"I know, it's just… weird. I don't know. I-I never thought much about my father. I was scared to, actually." The bigger girl said, fiddling nervously with a strand of hair.

Then, both of the girls sighed simultaneously. It took a moment but then they started smiling at each other. Max let herself fall into the sheets of her girlfriend's bed and asked, "You mind me being here? Seriously."

"I… I think it's okay. Thanks for asking, though."

"I care about you." She shrugged it off. "Is it okay if I look at them?"

"Sure, you probably shot most of them yourself."

The smaller girl gave an amused snort on that comment, before taking some of the photos laying around her into the hand.

It took her a moment, but from the first glance, she felt that something was odd. It was William behind his car. The car. Way before it was nothing but punched in metal.

Then she spotted the needle in the haystack.

He was holding the key to his car in his left hand. A key with a snake.

" _Isn't it cool? Your Dad looks hardcore with his new key!"_ She suddenly could remember. When they were kids he had shown the two of them a new special key for his car. It had been a birthday present. Even his tag had been written on the snake-key.

WP - 9402


	57. Pathway

_This was… Can this… But…._

Max was confused at first, but weirdly enough she sobered up quickly enough so that Chloe wouldn't notice the sudden shock on her face.

 _The fuck is this?_ Went through Max's head, just before she realized

 _I can't tell her that I've got the key related to her father's car…_   _This is not the time to confront Che with shit like that. Her head is already loaded with enough messed up stuff she needs to deal with._

"You doing alright, Maximus?"

"Yeah, I just... "

"Shocking, am I right? The person who you thought was the most hardcore punk rock of all is a softie after all."

"Chlo, let's be honest here, you were always a softie. Now you just hide in a pretty shell, that's the only difference to back then, really."

Chloe raised her hands, giving up any attempt to deny what had just been said. "Sure, rub it in my face." But then her face got a more serious expression. "But is it okay?..."

"That you are sad because you lost one of the closest people to you? Do I really have to answer that, dork!" Max was a bit upset by that question. "We've been through this, Che, you don't need to shut me out. Fuck everyone else, but not me."

There was a short pause in which Chloe seemed to think about what had just been said "... You're the only one I want to… Nevermind."

She needed a few seconds to understand what her girlfriend was trying to say, then her eyes narrowed and she gave Chloe an upset glare. "That timing… you are impossible!" The smile, which she couldn't suppress, wasn't helping her point. "Really!" But Max couldn't help but chuckle.

Thanks to hearing the laughter she loved so much, the punk physically relaxed. This was all she needed after all. "Sorry for upsetting you over this…"

"It's fine, really. This is way better than anything I had expected."

"Now that you say it, what did you exactly have in mind before seeing my little collection here? Aliens? Ghosts?"

"I don't know," Max said, sighing loudly. "Just the usual over-thinker, not wanting to shut up in here." She said as she tapped against her temple.

"Now I feel like visiting my old man tomorrow is just selfish. Maybe we shouldn't…"

Hearing that, the freckled girl quickly gather herself. "N-No I'm okay… Now I am at least." A small part in the back of her head couldn't shake the feeling off that there was more to it, that they had to go even if it would be hard.

"You really don't need to-" But Chloe was interrupted by a sharp gesture of Max's hand.

"No. I'm not pushing myself." She quickly interrupted. "I just want to help you, Che."

"That literally is pushing yourself. I'm a lot to deal with." But after a few seconds of starring her girlfriend in the eyes, she gave up. "Not gonna do a Max-ican stareoff against you."

"You better don't."

The next few hours were spent doing nothing exciting in particular, neither of them, not even Chloe, felt like there was a need for more excitement…

The next morning Max woke up earlier than the girl snuggled up against her back. In moments like these a soothing warmth spread through her whole body, which was more than just physical heat being emitted. She wanted to stay like this for just a few more moments, although being tempted to turn around to see which kind of adorable face Chloe was doing right now in her sleep.

The American flag wasn't hanging on the window anymore, and she could see a blue greeting her from outside. Even though it was November, the weather seemed nice enough. No weird snow, no double moon, no dead animals, no… storm.

"You okay? You cold?" A voice suddenly asked, bringing Max back.

"N-No, just a bad memory." She must've shaken without noticing it. "Sorry for waking you."

"Have been half asleep for the last hour or so. Too comfortable to move." After a short pause in which Chloe raised her upper body, she asked, "We still planning to go today, right? Just making sure that you're still feeling alright."

As a response, Max raised both her thumps. "Of course."

There was a longer pause between the two of them, where both tried to shake the sleep of their bones, but after a while, Chloe said, "I'm pretty sure that I'm just asking so much because somewhere deep down I hope for a reason to bail. Bailing is so much easier…"

"At some point, everything comes crashing down on you, Che. I mean look at me. Never once did I call you, and somehow I still end up in your bed. No escape from fate."

…

Quite a bit later that day, the two girls were sitting in the load area, looking downhill towards the beach. They had yet to visit the graveyard, but instead of doing so they had somehow ended up sitting here, not even talking about anything.

But both of them knew that they were just killing some time.

"I used to come down to the beach, and look at the sea, you know? Always got the feeling that… there was so much out there and I could just... " Her low voice stopped mid-sentence. There was no need to say more.

"Wanna go for a swim?"

"Chlo, we should go soon," Max said, half confused by that proposal. She knew it was important to Chloe to visit the grave. She also knew it was incredibly difficult for her.

As her girlfriend squeezed back, she assumed it was a silent Agreement. But then she was pulled down from the truck. "Che!" But instead of an answer, a jacket was thrown into her face. "It's way too cold for that! We're gonna get sick and all!" Max tried to argue against a wall of stone, she knew that, but she tried anyways even if only to tell her girlfriend a good old 'told you so' afterward.

Then she pulled on her shirt as well. Since when was she so susceptible to Chloe's stupid spontaneous ideas? What had happened to the shy little nerd she once was?

_I already know what happened to her, don't I?_

This version of her had… died a long time ago.

"This is so dumb."

"And you're still here with me, aren't you?"

The freckled girl narrowed her eyes and faked a pout. Chloe simply laughed it off, grabbed her girlfriend's hand once again, and together they ran towards the roaring sea.

...

"I'm fucking freezing. Can you turn the heater on?"

"It is… Just not working very well since Rachel spilled some beer over it." Chloe retorted, seemingly not bothered by that memory. Yet again the fact that she could here and there talk casually about Rachel, let Max be optimistic.

The Graveyard was a shared one. A few small towns in the vicinity, just like Arcadia were using it. That's why they still needed about twenty minutes to get there even while driving. But they didn't mind doing so.

Sufjan Steven's mystery of love was playing from one of the burned CDs, and the sun was still up, shining through the trees hovering over them. They were in no hurry, and the pressure from before was slowly fading away. There was a  _'Yes, we are really doing this'_ -feeling surrounding the inside of the car, calming the two of them down.

At first, Max had feared that this whole dipping in salt water had been an excuse not to go, but there had not been a single complaint from the girl next to her so far

"I'm… excited." Chloe said, not averting her gaze from the road.

"The bad or the good kind?"

"I don't really know."

Max never notice of tight Chloe was holding the wheel, as her eyes had already seen something so much better to lose themselves in. Her girlfriend was smiling. From ear to ear there was a big toothy grin, one of the infectious kind.

The freckled girl could feel how her love swelled up so much that she had a tightening feeling around her chest.

_No, it's not the bad kind, Che. Even if it hurts._

And then, there it was. A dark brown stonewall, stretching as far as they could see, was hidden behind a line of trees, and in the middle of it an ornate gate.

They parked not too far from the entrance, but neither of them stepped outside. Instead, Max tried to read the taller girl again, to make sure everything was okay. Chloe's eyes were locked onto her feet, and her brows were furrowed as if she was pondering about all this.

But then her eyes met Max's. Was that resolve she saw in the blue pair?

"Will you be with me?"

"Always."

As they approached the gate they expected someone, like a keeper or something, but there was no one. The two girls shrugged it off, he or she was probably working.

"You know where to go?"

"I think so. If I remember correctly, we should go that way." The punk said, pointing to her left. Her hand was trembling as she did, and she didn't even try to hide it.

In an attempt to help her, Max grabbed said hand and held it as they started moving through the yard. She tried not to wince when Chloe nearly crushed her hand, but it seemed like she wasn't noticing it herself.

They saw lots of names to both their sides, lots of Irish family names, and some that even sounded native American.

Then the blue haired girl halted.

Max didn't need to guess anything, she simply followed Chloe's intense stare.

The grave seemed almost … lonely. There was a big empty meadow, with a single big old tree standing on it. Its roots were thick, here and there they even came out of the earth, as if to show just how far it reached over the years.

Still standing where they did, she could also see that his grave was naked. Not a single flower or candle was placed around him. Max's furrowed angrily, seeing his grave so empty, even though she knew that neither Chloe nor Joyce had any ill intent. It had probably just been too difficult to come here. She understood, but it still bothered her gravely.

Chloe made the first few steps towards the tree, visibly shaking all over. For just a moment the freckled girl had forgotten about her girlfriend, but now she shifted to Chloe's side quickly, scared that the taller girl's knees might give way. Max tucked her arm, hoping it would give the punk some kind of stability, also letting her know that she was not alone in this.

"You holding up?"

Chloe blinked a few times, there was a watery shine in her blue eyes. "I guess." She gave a half-hearted shrug before starting to walk again.

Max felt helpless as she didn't know what to say, or if she even should say anything. Maybe it was okay to just let her girlfriend be sad for a while, even if it hurt her to see the punk like this.

The blue-haired girl on the other side didn't even notice how Max was yet again chewing on her own thoughts. Right now there was only her and the grave, waiting for her, coming closer with each step.

And then, before any of the two fully realized it, they were already there. Standing under the shadow of the lone tree.

For a long while, there was nothing but silence. But then Chloe took all her courage and said 2 simple words. "Hey, Dad."

She suddenly started laughing, which made Max furrow in worry.

The bigger girl turned her face to her girlfriend with an unreadable smile on her face. "Sorry… It's just… Look at me. Not his little girl anymore, am I? Nah, he would probably still call me his baby, even though I'm nearly as big as he was."

Then her blue eyes fell on the floor. "But would he?" She asked into the nothingness. "I changed so much since you left, Dad, and I'm scared to fuck up the first genuine thing I have since you…

I have blue hair now, can you believe it? Mom hated it at first, no surprise, right? Oh, she's doing fine by the way. Well, now at least… I gave her a hard time. I gave everyone around me a hard time to be real. Played the arrogant brat for way too long." Her eyes were yet again full with water.

Max knew that there was no stopping it now. The dam was broken.

"I even managed to get kicked out of school… Started doing drugs too." There was nothing holding the tears back now.

"So much shit happened… I know you hate cursing but there is no other way of putting it. I even lost Rachel not so long ago… What the fuck, am I right? You didn't even have a chance to meet that amazing person before she was stolen from me...

But not all was bad. I'm good at playing the pity card by now, but really... not everything is bad…

I got Max back, isn't that crazy? Ah, you probably never knew, but her parents moved to Seattle not long after you… A-Anyway, she's so freaking cool and strong, you wouldn't believe it. Hell, even I don't sometimes."

"Chloe…"

"I mean it!" The punk said out loud. Then, with a toothy grin on her face, she put her arm around the freckled girl. "And you know what? We're an item now. Somehow my Price charm managed to convince her to go out with me, despite everything." Suddenly Chloe felt a ping of pain on the arm around her girlfriend. "Hey! No pinching! Such brutal violence in a holy place is forbidden.

"And lying isn't? As if you ever needed to convince me to love you."

The frequency of Chloe blushing had become far less, but here and there Max still managed to let her girlfriend's cheeks glow in a beautiful red.

"As if you could hide your flaws from me."

"Never was good at lying to you, was I?"

The freckled girl shrugged. "They are a part of you, even if you hate the fact that they are." With her hands on her hips, she then said, "And I love everything about you."

Despite knowing this already, somehow the realization hit Chloe hard once more. Tears were boiling up behind her eyes yet again, and with no reason to hold them back, Chloe started crying. Behind the sobs, Max could hear a "Love you too." being muttered.

For a moment Max was afraid that she had gone too far, but despite all the snodder in her girlfriend's face, Chloe didn't look sad.

The blue haired girl rubbed her face with her hands a few times, making even more of a mess than it already was. "You really are incredible."

The freckled girl shrugged the compliment off, not knowing what to retort.

As neither of them knew what to say afterward, silence fell over them. Max felt like she needed to say something, anything to help her girlfriend, but then she realized there was no need to worry at the moment. Her girlfriend was… fine.

Chloe had a calm yet happy expression on her face, which was accompanied by a soft smile at the edge of her lips. Tired from all of this, she sat on the grass right next to the grave. She took some blades of grass and played with them.

Taking a picture now would be so wrong, but Max's hand was still itching. So instead, she turned around to look at the yard. It was actually not that bad. One could see that everything was being held in shape. There was one especially, which had numerous candles and blue flowers all over it.

 _That looks nice._ She thought as she started walking towards the stone. _Let's see who is resting here._

Just a fraction of a second before reading the inscription, she already knew what she would find here, who was decaying here under all that dirt together with hundreds of other corpses.

_...Here rests Maxine Caulfield..._


End file.
